A Smash of Kings
by Demi10Pinoy
Summary: In the North, they proclaim and serve High King Mario. In the South, they are subject to the reign of a tyrant, Ganondorf. And on the other side of the world, Marth amasses his own army to take the throne for himself. Who will win the Smash of Kings and take the throne?
1. A Royal Proclamation

The Realm of Smash consisted of six territories; the Mushroom Kingdom, Koopa Kingdom, Kingdom of Hyrule, Dreamland, Gerudo Valley, and the Smash Territory, where the Smash Mansion was originally located. All these lands were their own sovereign nations, overlooked by Master Hand. However, one morning, a message was sent to the various royal families and governments; Master Hand was found dead. The killer remained a mystery, but soon after the death of Master Hand, the killer's identity became very clear: Ganondorf. He became the main suspect because, a few days after the death, Ganondorf seized power; he marched on the Smash Mansion, with his joint army of the Gerudo and Koopa, and crowned himself as the Protector of the Realm. Ganondorf, Prince of the Gerudo Valley, became Ganon, Sixth of His Name, King of the Realm of Smash. During the early days of his tyrannical rule, he denounced all the royal families and ruling governments in the six territories, consolidating all the power to himself. Also, he fortified the Smash Mansion into a city known as Smashville. In Smashville, he established a Small Council: Bowser, who became the Hand of the King, Mewtwo, Meta Knight, Lord-Commander of the King's Guard, and Dark Pit.

As for the rest of the Realm, all royalty was forced to bend the knee to the new throne: Princess Zelda became Zelda, Lady of Hyrule; King Dedede became Dedede, Warden of Dreamland; Princess Peach became Peach, Lady of the Mushroom Lands; and, Marth, he fled the Realm of Smash entirely—his whereabouts immediately after Ganondorf's rise to power, along with Lucina, Ike and Roy's, were unknown.

All the other former residents of the Smash Mansion were either forced into Ganon's own army, King's Guard or into ordinary lives among regular Toads in the north, Hylians in the middle of the Realm, Gerudo in the Gerudo Valley wedged southeast between Hyrule, the ocean and Dreamland, Koopas in the northeast, or Dreamland residents in the southwest.

* * *

In the dining hall of Peach's castle, Peach sat at the end of a long table that stretched nearly the length of the great hall. The hall must have been at least thirty feet in length and was only dimmed by various candles and a fire place directly behind Peach. On the table was a lavish meal that she had arranged to be prepared; she was hosting Zelda, and she always expected something of a show. Along with Zelda was Link, who always seemed to be joined at her hip, in his regular green tunic and matching green cap. Beside Link were the Mario Brothers, who ate their food with the rest in silence, listening closely to Peach and Zelda's conversation. Just as they finished their meal, a toad entered the large hall.

"Princess, Lord Sonic the Hedgehog has arrived from Green Hill Zone," the Toad announced loudly.

"It's not _princess_ anymore," Peach reminded the toad with a heavy sigh, "I'm the _Lady of the Mushroom Lands_ now…"

"Can't get used to the titles?" Sonic said upon entering the room.

"You can never get used to them," Zelda responded in the same elegant tone she always had, "We went from being Princesses to puppets for Ganon; we've lost everything within a few months."

"For _His Grace_ ," Mario muttered, mocking the titles and courtesies that Gannon enforced, "This whole situation is absurd; _our King_ has put has back to the medieval times…"

"Well, it isn't all that terrible," Sonic suggested, trying to lighten the situation, "I mean, your armored Toads outside are in nice chainmail and have capable swords and shields—"

"But compared to what the world was before, this is… Less than ideal," Zelda interrupted, stirring her golden wine glass in her hand, "Well, now that everyone is here, I have an announcement."

"An announcement?" Luigi said, suddenly interested in what was going on. He looked at the only other person in green, Link, and asked, "Did you guys not just come here for a visit, or dinner?"

Link shrugged his shoulders and put his hands up, indicating he did not know what Zelda was talking about. Apparently, nobody else around the table knew either. "I have kept this a secret for months… The night after Ganondorf seized power, I started planning an uprising."

"An uprising?" Peach asked, leaning on the table to get closer, "Well, whatever you have planned, I'll have your back."

"Peach, think about this for a second," Luigi advised quickly. Unlike the Princess, Luigi was not as eager to commit to a call of _treason_ , "Ganondorf is the most powerful man in the Realm right now. To go against him right now would be—"

"Justified," Mario finished suddenly while looking down at the table. Glancing up at the others, he said, "You have my support, _Princess_ Zelda."

"Well, before we actually finalize anything, I need the support of everybody in this room," Zelda explained, "I know four of you are with me already, but I still need to hear from Luigi and Sonic."

"Anybody's loyalty could be bought with the right price," Sonic responded slyly.

"We can make that work, Lord Sonic," Zelda nodded gratefully. Now, everybody looked at Luigi.

"Well, what do you say, bro?" Mario asked.

Full of uncertainty, Luigi sighed. Soon, he came to an reluctant decision, but a decision nonetheless, "Alright. You have my support, Zelda. But, I need to know the kind of mess I'm getting myself into."

"We'll march eastwards through Hyrule Field, into the Gerudo Valley, then penetrate the Smash Territory to take over Smashville," Zelda explained, mimicking the would-be movements of the army on the wooden top of the table, "Once we dispose of Ganon, we'll install a new ruler who will act as a figurehead. Then, we can restore sovereignty to the Mushroom Kingdom, the Smash Territory, and the Hyrule Kingdom."

"What about Dreamland, the Gerudo Valley and the Koopa Kingdom?" asked Luigi, who seemed to be the only one thinking about the many things that could go wrong with beginning a rebellion.

"Well, since their leaders are open supporters, we'll annex the territories accordingly," Zelda answered, quite sure of herself and confident with her plan.

Her answer made Luigi shake his head, "Dedede doesn't support the King; he's neutral—"

"But, he still can't be trusted," Peach said, agreeing with Zelda, "Kirby's always at odds with him, is he not?"

"Still, we can't categorize people based on what they _used to be_ ," Luigi continued to contradict, "If you wish to overthrow a regime in the name of a new one, we have to consider how it affects everyone in the Realm. Besides, we can use Dedede and his territory; if we ally ourselves with him, we won't have to go through Gerudo Valley to get into Smashville. Also, we'd have a bigger army."

Link nodded silently in agreement. A few seconds of thinking later, Zelda spoke again, "Okay Luigi, you're a thinker; I like that. You should be the Hand of the King."

"The Hand of which King?" Luigi asked, still skeptical, "Are you naming yourself King... Or Queen?"

"No, no," Zelda shook her head with a slight smile, "We need somebody that the people can get behind; somebody who can symbolize light in the darkest of times… Somebody like Mario."

Surprised, Mario stood up quickly, silencing everybody else in the room. He was not overly excited at the idea of being a King; the whole notion of naming him, an Italian plumber, as the High King of the Realm, seemed ridiculous. "You want me to be a King?" he questioned, as if Zelda were crazy.

"Well, your name carries a lot of weight around the Realm," Sonic added, "You'd be the personification of our cause; people could rally behind you."

"Imagine that: Mario, First of His Name, Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, Liberator of Hyrule and Dreamland, Protector of the Realm and the True High King of the Realm of Smash," Peach smiled, making up the figurative titles as she spoke.

" _High_ _King of the Smash_ ," Sonic suggested, now also smiling.

* * *

A raven came flying down to the windowsill of Kirby's star shape house in the middle of Dreamland. The days away from the Smash Mansion were always slow and rather boring (unless Dedede tried to do anything that went against the people of Dreamland, which he did many times). So, when King Ganon took over, Kirby decided to stay in Dreamland and work for a just rule under Dedede, the _Warden_ of Dreamland. Kirby took the letter from the raven and saw a mushroom imprint fused with the Triforce. Confused, Kirby opened the letter and read it carefully. The contents of the letter surprised him, and he ran outside, as fast as he little feet could take him. Outside his home was his vehicle of choice, the Warp Star. He hopped on it and flew directly towards Mt. Dedede, where the keep, Castle Dedede, stood. He landed outside of the large castle located the peak of the relatively small mountain. When he landed, the Waddle Dees and Doos, who guarded the castle, straightened up and remained still; they respected Kirby, and did not want him to think that they were threatening him. If Kirby felt threatened, he would begin to eat.

Kirby ran through the courtyard on the sunny afternoon and into the castle's main hall which also acted as the throne room. Several steps above Kirby sat Warden Dedede on his throne a Waddle Dee with a spear at his side.

"Ah, Kirby," he greeted as if he were happy to see the pink puffball, "How are you?"

"I just got a raven from _High King_ Mario," Kirby explained, almost out of breath from his long walk, "He's began an uprising with the Mushroom Lands and Hyrule and his back. Mario wants us to support his effort as well."

Dedede's good mood quickly went away; now, he was furious. "How can I support anybody that Zelda does?" he asked Kirby rhetorically, "You know she probably put him up to this! I could see it now; she gave that poor plumber a roaring speech about his accomplishments, and that he should become King Mario to take back the Realm from a "tyrant" like Ganon. Well, I'll tell you something, Kirby—!"

"I really don't want a lecture. I'm just telling you that I received a raven—"

"—those Hylians are good-for-nothing imperials, that's what they are! All they did was brag about how they were the biggest, most powerful kingdom in all the land, then when a new regime arises, they decide to start an uprising! I say damn that imperialistic Lady Zelda, that's what I say! There's no way in hell that we'll support a puppet of her own creation!"

"Well, a war of Kings is upon us, Dedede—"

"That's _my lord_ , Kirby. Show some respect."

Kirby groaned, "There's a war upon us now, _My Lord_. Now, you must choose somebody to back sooner or later, or I'm afraid that Dreamland will get caught up in the cross-fire."

"Well, if you're so keen on supporting one side of this conflict, I suggest you go help the _rightful_ king of the Realm. I need to stay back and prepare Dreamland's army."

As Kirby left the castle, slightly disappointed that Dedede seemed to love the new way of life under King Ganon, he thought about Dedede's words. However, Kirby did not think there was a _rightful_ king; it had been peaceful between countries with the occasional smash between a few of his friends at the Smash Mansion. Those conflicts sometimes were underlined by ongoing rivalries between governments, sure, but none had ever accumulated into a total war. The question was still on Kirby's mind: who was the _rightful king of the realm_?

Seeking answers, Kirby decided not to fly back to his house and enjoy the rest of his day doing nothing. Instead, he set out east, towards Smashville.

* * *

"Your Grace, there's an uprising in the North of the Realm!" Roy announced, nearing cheering. Assuming that Roy had received a raven from their spies in Smashville, Marth turned around from his view of the Orange Ocean; he knew that, hundreds of miles across that ocean, was the coast of Dreamland, more specifically the Ice Cream Islands. He turned back, towards the old withered coliseum that they stationed themselves out of temporarily.

"And…?" Marth asked, indicating that he wanted Roy to continue talking.

"And the Mushroom Lands and Hyrule named Mario the High King of the Realm. King Ganon has already sent his Lord-Hand Bowser to Hyrule Field to create a defensive line," Roy did not stop smiling at the news of unrest in the Realm.

"This is great news," Marth nodded, walking away from the wall he was leaning on, "Does Ike or Lucina know yet?"

"No, Your Grace," Roy responded, walking next to Marth, "The moment that I read our _Little Bird_ 's letter, I came to you. Nobody on this side of the Orange Ocean knows except for us."

They walked on the hard sandstone of the land they were on, Sarasa. As a kid, Marth had been told stories about the Sarasa of old; his ancestors from centuries ago emigrated to the Realm of Smash from Sarasa and established their own kingdoms. However, over the course of thousands of years, the landscape changed and, eventually, Marth's once royal family was powerless in the Smash Territory. However, Master Hand's death presented Marth with a great opportunity to restore his family's monarchy. But, Ganondorf beat him to the punch, and Marth exiled himself to avoid arrest or death, or both. Ike, Lucina and Roy joined him in exile because they supported his idea of re-institutionalizing a monarchy under Marth's name, not beginning a new one under Ganondorf.

"I expect you will break the news to them when convenient to you, yes?" Marth asked.

"They're meeting with several of our former housemates from the mansion as we speak," Roy nodded, "They want to fight for you."

"Well, we don't have to fight yet," Marth suggested. His suggestion made Roy stop walking and look at him with a confused look.

"Yet?"

"Well, let me explain it like this," Marth began, clearing his throat, "High King Mario and King Ganon are at war with each other now. Both have large armies at their disposal, right? So, we'll let them destroy each other in their own struggle. The time to invade the realm is immediately after the end of their war—maybe a week, ten days even, after either Ganon is overthrown, or Mario's rebellion is crushed. The victor will be weak; the fight will be easier if we invade then."

Roy nodded, thinking about Marth's plan in detail, "It's a good idea, but…"

"But what?"

"Well, why wait? After we get enough ships, our army can easily crush any other army in the Realm of Smash, whether they're at full strength or half-strength. Nobody can stop us now; there's no need to wait."

"We have to be patient."

"Well, if we wait too long, Your Grace, we might miss the opportunity to strike entirely."


	2. The Capital

On the eve of their attack, High King Mario stood in a rather large tent with a Small Council of his own; Peach, Zelda, Link, Sonic and Luigi. The night had just set upon them, and they planned on ambushing the Gerudo-Koopa forces who occupied Kakariko Village. In the tent was a wooden table with their plans of attack set up on a large map of the Village, to its very limits. Luigi saw High King Mario looked down, into a chest by the table. The chest had been delivered by Wario's own Toads, who were sent down to Hyrule; Wario had began to make quite a profit from the war, using WarioWare to become a War Profiteer. Although against the idea of it, Luigi knew that Wario would be their only option for fast, reliable equipment, so he was forced to turn a blind eye to some of the _slightly illegal_ activities Wario was conducting in order to meet their army's demand.

Luigi could tell that the High King was satisfied with the armor inside the chest. The High King's nod and grin only confirmed it. After he walked back to the others—Luigi and Link were carefully analyzing their battle strategy while Peach and Zelda talked about the state of both their kingdoms—he heard somebody rushing from outside. Suddenly, a Hylian soldier wearing silver chainmail and steel armor with a white tunic rushed into the tent and panted, "Your Majesty… Sorry for the intrusion, but we found a spy… She was found in the barracks with a pad and paper. We believe she was scouting our manpower."

The High King nodded sternly and, soon after, the spy was forced into the tent. The spy, who was wearing a bowl on his head with painted-on red spots, was a Gerudo. From where Luigi was standing, he could tell from the dried red spots on the back of the armor that the Gerudo had killed a Hylian to have a disguise. The Gerudo rose, holding the bowl in her hands, as a Toad and another Hylian soldier held a spear and sword (respectively) to her back.

"What was your number?" Luigi asked loudly, breaking the tense silence of the room.

The Gerudo stammered nervously, "Um… It… Uh…"

"Come on now, we don't have all night," Luigi groaned, trying to be loud and firm once again.

The Gerudo did not answer, instead deciding to look down and remain silent. High King Mario turned around and looked at the spy. He then took the paper from the Hylian soldier and scanned it quickly. Looking at the Gerudo's bowed head, the King said, "You counted thirty thousand?"

"Yes…" the Gerudo responded, reluctantly, "Ten thousand Toads and twenty thousand Hylians…"

"This guy isn't going to say a lot more," Zelda said quickly and decisively. She turned to the guards and ordered, "Take her outside and—"

"No," Mario quickly vetoed Zelda. He turned back to the Gerudo, who ducked her head further down, "Go back to your camp and tell Bowser the number you counted. But, tell him what happened here; tell him that you were caught before you could count the other half. Tell your poor excuse for a battle commander that sixty thousand Hylians and Toads alike are coming, and you don't stand a chance."

* * *

As soon as he got to Smashville, Kirby docked the Warp Star outside of the city's main gate. He looked up at one of the Koopas standing guard there; the Koopa was covered in mainly leather armour bearing King Ganon's colors, black and maroon. Their armor, Kirby noticed, was much different from that of the kingdoms to the north; unlike the helmetless, chainmail and steel armors, the soldiers under King Ganon's rule wore round, egg shaped helmets with bronze-colored chainmail (if not leather armor). More often than not, the Koopas wore the helmets, and King Ganon's Gerudo troops often wore a Keffiyeh in place of the round helmet.

The gate of Smashville opened, allowing Kirby to step through into the city. The city streets were crowded with people from all over the lands, from Koopas to Hylians to Pikman to some space travelers and bounty hunters. And, although it was a time of war, many of the residents of Smashville seemed out of the loop and relatively disconnected from the current events of the Realm.

As Kirby walked down the street, bumping past various civilians, he saw a Meta Knight standing in the middle of the street, his cape covering most of his small, round body. Because Meta Knight stood in the middle of the street, apparently not caring about anybody trying to pass him, Kirby assumed that he heard about Kirby's intention of visiting Smashville. Kirby half-smiled and approached Meta Knight. When he reached Meta Knight, Meta Knight put his cape down, revealing his silver mask.

Meta Knight greeted in his usual distant, mysterious voice, "Welcome to The Capital."

"How did you hear about my visit?" Kirby asked.

"You're the Hero of Dreamland; a man of your status can't travel anywhere outside of Dreamland unnoticed," Meta Knight responded, "The King has prepared a guest room in the castle for you as well. We wouldn't want you to stay in a shanty motel in the bad part of town"

"I was hoping that this would be a low-profile venture to Smashville," Kirby said as they walked towards the castle, "I wanted to find you, actually."

"Why is that?" Meta Knight asked, stopping again in the middle of the street.

Kirby stopped as well, looking around to see if he was being watched by any guards or soldiers. Quickly, Kirby motioned to Meta Knight to walk over to a corner by one of the many marketplaces. They walked over to it and Kirby whispered, "I know you're a spy for Marth. Don't even try to lie about it; I saw the letter he wrote you the day you left Dreamland."

Although he could not see Meta Knight's face, Kirby knew that Meta Knight understood where he was going, "Oh, so you're here to blackmail me, then? Well Kirby, I taught you well—"

"No, no, no," Kirby responded, still whispering, "I want to _help_ you; Dedede told me that, if I want to join a side in this war, I should join the _rightful_ king of the Realm. Well, now I'm here, telling you that, like you, I want to see Marth on the throne, not Ganon nor Mario."

By the look in his yellow eyes, Kirby could tell that he was willing to help him. Meta Knight began walking again, and Kirby quickly caught up. When Kirby was at Meta Knight's side, the spy said, "Stay in The Capital for a bit and get on King Ganon's good side. The _Rightful King_ fairs a far better chance against King Ganon than High King Mario."

"What makes you say that?" Kirby asked.

"The _Rightful King_ 's army is half the size of the combined forces of Hyrule and the Mushroom Kingdom. Also, they fight for a leader they despise. Now, come with me; King Ganon requests that you sit in on our Small Council meeting. After that, he wants you to meet his Queen-to-be."

"The Traitor of the Mushroom Kingdom," Kirby recalled from a letter that he received from Mario. The letter was written under Mario's name many months before the Mushroom-Hylian Rebellion began, but Kirby could tell that Peach actually wrote the letter. It was one of the many letters that encouraged, even pressured, Kirby into moving to the Mushroom Lands.

"It's actually Queen Rosalina," Meta Knight corrected, "She's sweet, really. You'll like her."

"She still betrayed her people, Meta Knight," Kirby said matter-of-factly, "That's what they call her up there now; to them and the Lumas, she's a traitor, almost as evil as King Ganon."

They finally arrived at the castle gates; the King had transformed the mansion into a massive castle with sandstone walls. Truly, Kirby thought, King Ganon modeled his capital city in the image of his Gerudo roots. At the gate stood two large guards in bronze chainmail wielding shields and a spear. When they saw Meta Knight, they moved aside as the large spiral gate opened. They walked into the courtyard and traveled into a tower. A few minutes of traveling later, they reached a small chamber with a table with five chairs for the King's Small Council. However, Kirby only recognized Mewtwo and the King himself; Bowser was not there nor was Dark Pit. In their place was Captain Falcon and Wolf.

Upon entering the room that mainly consisted of villains, Kirby bowed his body along with Meta Knight in respect for King Ganon while Meta Knight said, "Your Grace, the Hero of Dreamland is here."

The King, from his chair at the head of the table, stood up. Kirby looked up and saw that King Ganon wore his typical black Gerudo armor and had his typical red hair and beard. However, his hair was longer and had a golden crown atop of it. King Ganon walked over to Kirby and, as he got closer, his face got rougher and uglier. How could a beauty like Rosalina marry a hog like Ganondorf?

When the King reached Kirby, he grinned, revealing his yellow teeth, "I'm glad you made it. We could use your insight."

"My insight?" Kirby questioned, "Your Grace, why do you need me? Your Small Council looks… Capable."

"Well, this "capable" crew just lost our first engagement of this war in Hyrule Field," King Ganon responded, almost as if he were attacking the members of his council, "We took heavy casualties; we were lucky that we weren't obliterated entirely."

Kirby understood and walked to a seat next to Meta Knight. When he sat down, the council's conversation continued, "The Hylians were able to push us away from Death Mountain, Your Grace," Mewtwo informed, "We're waiting for the battle report from Lord Bowser."

"Well, isn't that just great?" King Ganon muttered, disappointed, "And…?

Mewtwo looked down as Captain Falcon continued in his place, "Um… We lost more soldiers… Ten thousand, we believe… They pinned us between the Mountain and their forces. After that, it was a massacre."

"I should have Bowser returned here and executed for his incompetence!" King Ganon expressed his frustrations, "He's doing more to help Mario than for me at this point…"

Hours of brainstorming and counseling later, Kirby walked out of the chamber with the King. It was quite an awkward walk, because Ganon was more than double Kirby's height, but they had manners to discuss nonetheless.

"I'll send a raven to Dreamland," Kirby said, "When I leave Smashville, I'll go back to there and work with the Warden first-hand."

"I fear that, if we don't get enough men or a better leader soon, the war will be over in a few months," the King said, clenching his teeth in anger, "Bowser's leadership thus far has been incompetent at best. At worst, it's been completely traitorous, whether intentional or not…"

They walked down the corridor and Kirby left the King briefly; he was admiring the view of the newly-created city. As he looked at the city, which looked beautiful under the cloudless sky, he heard somebody walking up behind him. He turned around and saw Samus Aran. However, she was not wearing her standard Varia suit; instead, she wore bronze chainmail with a white cape draped over her left shoulder pad. She must be apart of the King's Guard now, Kirby thought.

"How can I help you?" Kirby asked, turning to face the tall woman.

"I'm just want to ask you for a favor, My Lord," Samus answered respectfully.

"I'm not a Lord, but go on," Kirby allowed.

Samus, almost looking relieved that Kirby would even listen to her, spoke clearly and confidently, "I want you to take me back to Dreamland with you; I'm sworn to protect a King that I fantasize about killing every night. You just need to get me there; Fox and Falco are trying to keep the Smash Brothers alive out there."

"I can't smuggle you out of Smashville so that you can become a sellsword," Kirby refused lightly. He walked passed Samus and said, "I'm sorry, but I have to go."

* * *

Luigi walked through the main street of the Kakariko Village somewhat close to Hyrule Castle Town. After the Hylian-Mushroom Forces liberated the village from the Gerudos and Koopas, High King Mario and Link lead a charge to wipe out their retreating army. Many Hylians and Toads in their silver chainmail armor, or leather armor, walked around the Village helping different residents clean up the streets from the debris of the battle. Luigi passed several Toads dragging an unconscious Koopa off to a destroyed shop, which some Hylians occupied for interrogation and saw Zelda walking towards him.

"Your Majesty," Luigi greeted.

"It was a great idea to attack the Village, My Lord-Hand," Zelda complemented, reaching him, "Ganon's forces don't stand a chance if we keep our aggression."

"Has High King Mario returned yet?" Luigi asked.

"They're coming just over the bridge now," Zelda answered, "And they have a valuable prisoner."

"So, that's why you've come over here, then?" Luigi said, almost cheekily, "To get me?"

"Right again," Zelda nodded, "Come on; let's go."

The two walked outside of the Village limits and arrived at a bridge over a small canal of water. Across the bridge they saw two toads, both wearing white cloaks, around Peach. After they met Peach, and exchanged pleasantries, they saw Link and Mario returning from their pressing attack on the retreating Gerudos and Koopas. While Link, who seemed to be covered in dirty and mud from the attack, rode on his horse, Epona, Mario was on the back of a green Yoshi. As they got closer, they saw that Mario had decided to put on Wario's armor; a guard of gold covered his soldiers, but left his overalls exposed, and a golden crown with an "M" sat atop his head in the place of his red cap. Also, Luigi saw their prisoner being dragged by a rope attached to Epona. The prisoner wore dark clothing and was being dragged by a rope that illuminated. Soon, they realized that they had captured Dark Pit, a crucial player in King Ganon's army.

When they finally stopped in front of the two Princesses and the King's Hand, Dark Pit grumbled in pain and rolled onto his knees. His entire body was covered in dirt, cuts and bruises both from the battle and from being dragged for several hundreds of feet.

"You've proved your point!" he yelled, "Just, for the love of Palutena, stop!"

"We haven't proved anything," High King Mario hissed as he dismounted the Yoshi, "We prove something with our next attack, on their forces in the Lost Woods."

"Are you sure that attacking the Lost Woods is a good idea?" Dark Pit panted, now sitting on his knees. His hands were still bound as Link walked over to him, "That wood is very thick, with all those trees and that mist. If you attack the Lost Woods, you're signing your own death wish, False King!"

Before Dark Pit could say anymore, Link struck him on the head with the hilt of the Master Sword, knocking him unconscious. Luigi nodded at the Toads, who quickly took Dark Pit away from the High King and dragged him into the village. "We'll set up here for a few days, then we'll have another attack," High King Mario stated, "I need a drink."

As Luigi walked next to High King Mario across the bridge, Luigi said, "There's been talk with the men back in Kakariko Village, Your Majesty; the Gorons agreed to run out POW camp in Death Mountain. You know, it's nothing too harsh and inhumane; just a means to get them talking or get them uncomfortable enough to talk."

"You better keep an eye on those Gorons, My Lord-Hand," the High King advised, "They aren't the best with knowing the limits of normal bodies."

"Normal bodies? What do you mean?"

"They're literally rocks, Luigi. I'd be careful with how they treat our prisoners."


	3. The Pokemon Problem

A Gerudo soldier in bronze chainmail sat next to a Koopa with a green shell. While the Koopa had heavier armor over his set of bronze chainmail, the Gerudo only had some light armor overtop. Lord Bowser had chosen them to keep watch over the cold hours of the night in Hyrule Field; it had been a few weeks since the last Hylian-Mushroom attack that drove Bowser's forces away from the Lost Woods. Like the attack before it, the Battle of the Lost Woods saw the deaths of thousands. The two soldiers knew that Bowser had been anticipating an attack from the Hylians at least a week after their latest defeat, but it never came. As a result, their Lord and General became extremely jumpy and defensive. He finally calmed down when the Gerudo reserves showed up to the makeshift camp a fortnight after their defeat. However, it had been a month, maybe a week or two more, since the beginning of the war, and they were pushing dangerously close to the Gerudo Valley already.

"They say that Lord Bowser has gone mad," the Gerudo muttered while warming her hands by the fire the Koopa had built earlier in the night, "I heard that King Ganon is thinking about pulling him off the front line entirely."

"And replace him with who?" the Koopa asked skeptically, "As far as I can tell, those idiots on the King's council are just as bad, if not worse than, Lord Bowser. All they've done is sent men to their deaths, at the hands of those damn rebels."

"This fight shouldn't be as hard as it is," the Gerudo shook her head, regretfully and frustrated, "We have more power, more money, better weapons and armors, better horses, the list goes on and on… Yet, they have killed thousands more of us than we have of them! How are they beating us this badly?"

"They have something to fight for," the Koopa suggested, "They have a cause they believe in. It's amazing, really; none of those Hylian-Mushroom soldiers were drafted; they all volunteered."

"I wasn't drafted," the Gerudo grunted as she stabbed her steel sword into the dirt, "I know you weren't drafted neither..."

"But most of our men were drafted," the Koopa explained.

Suddenly, they heard a noise beyond their two horses. The Gerudo quickly grabbed his sword from the ground, as the Koopa grabbed his axe and shield. Quickly, they walked towards the sound, both with their hands on the hilt of their weapons, to investigate the noise. When they got to the noise, they only saw three white eggs with green spots. Confused, the Gerudo picked an egg up and inspected it closely.

"What is this…?" she pondered, squinting her eyes.

When the Koopa further thought about the egg, he recognized the unique design, "WAIT-!"

Almost as sudden as the sound a few seconds before, the egg exploded, shattering into pieces in the fiery blast. The Gerudo soldier flopped back, flying onto the cold ground below. As she rolled around in pain, the Koopa held his axe, ready for a fight, but was quickly knocked to the side by a hidden enemy. The Koopa, who was now on the ground from the knock, looked up dazed. When his vision cleared, he saw Link wearing a dirty green tunic and wielding the Master Sword. "No-no, plea—!"

A few feet behind Link was Mario, who was mounted on the same green Yoshi. Behind Mario were Sonic, in normal leather armor, a horse-mounted Toad, and the rest of his army. When Link turned back to his High King, he nodded and walked back to Epona. As Link steadied Epona with his sword in hand, Mario looked forward at the makeshift camp in the dead of night; the only source of light were a few lanterns.

" _For the High King of the Smash!_ " the Toads and Hylians shouted before rushing into battle.

* * *

In the land of Sarasa, across the Orange Ocean from the Realm of Smash, King Marth sat in a long hall. While King Ganon had his great hall with his throne elevated over the everything else in the room, and High King Mario had his many camps and temporary hall in Mushroom City, Marth had a single long hall in a village on the northern coast of Sarasa. The town only housed a few residents when he, Lucina, Ike and Roy came over in exile, but, since the tyranny of Ganon came to fruition, many former Smash Brothers sailed over the Orange Ocean and into the Sarasa lands to join Marth's army.

After thanking a local villager for the food given to him as a gift, his Hand, Lucina, entered the hall. On her chest was a pin that was customary for the Hand of the King: the pin was golden, fashioned to have a hand gripping Marth's family sword. As she walked down the hall, Marth could tell that something went awry by the look on her face. Marth stood up from his _throne_ and asked, "What happened now, My Lady-Hand?"

"It's Lucario," Lucina said with a heavy sigh, "He has some news from the Realm."

Marth walked alongside Lucina through the coastal village and down to the ruins of a coliseum that rested near the water. It was a large coliseum, rich with the history of the Sarasa people, but for now, Ike used it to train King Marth's army. When Marth and Lucina entered the coliseum, they saw several things going on inside: to their right, in the large open area, they saw Ike conversing with Lucario, probably about the thing Lucina fetched Marth about; towards the center, there were many different fighters (Marth was able to identify Shulk and Robin) training with what looked like some form of magic; to the left, they saw a small group of people watching Roy sparring Ness. Ness, who was extremely out-classed, failed to hold his shield up and was struck by Roy's wooden blade.

Before Roy helped the boy up, he cupped the side of Ness's face and said, "Keep your shield up, or I'll ring your head like a bell."

As they resumed, the King and his Hand reached Ike and Lucario. Ike, who had just finished polishing his new armor and giant greatsword (which he had stabbed into the ground), turned to face his King and bowed. Lucario, however, did not.

"Your Grace," Ike greeted. He straightened back up and told, "Lucario has just told about me a… Stark reality of the current situation of the Gerudo-Koopa Army."

"Stark reality?" King Marth questioned. He turned to Lucario and said, "What stark reality?"

With a sorrowful look, Lucario sighed and bowed his head towards the King, "Well Your Grace, Mewtwo has… I'm not entirely sure how to say this… Mewtwo has… Brainwashed hundreds of Pokemon. They've become slaves to him, essentially; he plans to use them when High King Mario reaches the border of Hyrule and the Smash Territory."

"You mean when they reach the Gerudo Valley?" King Marth asked, frightened by Lucario's information.

Lucario nodded, "Your Grace, I've seen what this can do in the past; before, Mewtwo was able to turn the most loyal of Pokemon against their respected trainers and bring them into his command. I fear that, now that he has them at their will, he'll make them fight to their very last breaths. It's unknown the kind of caliber of fighter the Gerudo-Koopa army has now."

"Lucario says that we need to invade as soon as possible," Ike advised, turning back to his King, "Your Grace, I understand that you want to wait, and I also understand that, in some respects, it's better to wait. But now... My King, these atrocities committed by Mewtwo cannot go unpunished."

"I'm not trying to offend, but we have not heard this from a _reliable_ source, like our _Little Bird_ ," King Marth said sternly, "We'll have to wait until we receive a raven from him. I'm sorry, but that's what we must do."

Later, King Marth sat in his long hall now filled with soldiers that ate their dinner. Lucina, Roy and Ike typically sat at the table closest to their King, but tonight they did not join the rest of the others. The hall was loud and glowing with many different conversations; some about current events in their home of Smashville, others about the _Good Old Days_ of the Smash Brothers. King Marth sat, slumping on his throne, and listened to one of the conversations he picked up on; it seemed to be about the ongoing battles in Hyrule Field.

"I don't know if you heard, but," said somebody, probably Shulk, "When the so-called _High King_ _of Smash_ rides into battle, he's aback some kind of _mutant Yoshi_ with great big fangs, ones that Yoshis should never have, and great long claws!"

"That's simply not true," another interjected lightly, "How could a province as backward as the Mushroom Lands create some kind of monster from such a sweet animal like a Yoshi?"

"Backward? Have you been there in the last decade, Robin? If any province in the Realm is backward, it's definitely the Badlands of the Koopa. Now that is the very definition of backward, my friend."

"Anyways, back to the battles?" a third asked.

"Well, let me tell you about their first engagement at the Village of Kakariko! The Gerudo and Koopas did not know what hit them! Their idiot commanders, Dark Pit and Bowser, tried to out-flank the Hylians, but soon after the Toads beat the Gerudo at their own game! They pinned those poor fools against Death Mountain, then the massacre began! After that slaughter, Bowser lead a retreat, then Dark Pit, on account of his own stubbornness, got captured by General Link, who himself is probably the only honorable person on Mario's Small Council! Ha! Can you believe that!?"

The King chuckled from their conversation. He then felt someone tap his shoulder and turned his head. It was Roy, who held a letter marked with the symbol of a Star on it. Understanding what this meant, Marth stood up and walked outside with Roy.

Just outside of the long hall, Lucina looked at the Orange Ocean, which had the clear night sky draped over it. Because the lake of light in the sky, the million stars were the only things lighting Sarasa. Slightly ahead of Lucina was Ike, who casually leaned against the wall of the wooden long hall.

"We need to attack as soon as possible," Ike sighed in frustration, "I don't care if waiting will be better anymore; if we strike now, while High King Mario is putting the boots to the Gerudo-Koopa army, we might avoid bloodshed all together. We can compromise with the rebels, can't we? They're obviously more reasonable than Ganon."

"But, you know our King much better than I do," Lucina responded, "This is what Marth does. He's always planning for the future, and he's stubborn about changing his plan."

"Well, I'm just glad somebody else saw it," Ike sighed, "You always have my back; I appreciate that, Lucina."

Lucina laughed while she was turned away from Ike, "Well, why do you think I always have your back?"

"I… I never thought about it, actually."

"Any guesses?" Lucina asked as if she were teasing him with the grin on her face.

Before Ike could answer, King Marth and Roy walked outside with the letter. Lucina and Ike semi-bowed in the presence of their king and straightened back up. "Have you all read the letter?" the King asked.

"Yes, Your Grace," Ike nodded, "Lucario was right."

"Yes, he is… It's exactly as I feared," King Marth said regretfully, "You know I'm not willing to begin our invasion of the Realm yet, but we'll still wait and see; I want to see the actions taken by High King Mario first."

"What do you think he'll do, Your Grace?" Lucina inquired.

"It all depends," responded the King, "Our _Little Bird_ says that Ganon was advised to try a strategic retreat to the border of the Gerudo Valley after yet another defeat by the Hylians and Toads. They want to launch a counteroffensive to retake Hyrule Field in its entirety—a daunting task if you ask me. If they succeed in this counter-attack, then we'll invade the east coast of The Smash Territory, maybe. However, if the Hylians and Toads succeed in stopping the charge, we'll wait."

"Your Grace, we need to invade as soon as possible!" Ike shouted passionately, "Mewtwo's atrocities cannot go unpunished!"

"It's war, Ike," King Marth snapped calmly, "Atrocities, as awful as they are, are apart of war; there are some we can fight in the name of but can't avenge immediately. This is one of them. We are simply not ready to invade yet."

* * *

Princess Zelda walked through the torn-up grass of the former battlefield. A few days earlier, High King Mario and Link charged into Bowser's camp and obliterated most of the forces there. Those who were alive retreated, taken back to the POW camp in Death Mountain, or interrogated on the spot. The tents were taken over by the Hylian-Mushroom camp. In the aftermath of the battle, Zelda walked in the destroyed field, her dress somehow not covered in the dirt that the troops were. She entered the main tent, which stood in the middle of all the tents. Inside it were Sonic, Luigi and Peach.

"Any sign of the High King?" Zelda asked.

"He's washing up with Link, Your Majesty," Sonic informed with a bow of his head, "It's been a long few weeks for them."

"It certainly has," Zelda agreed, looking on as if she were contempt, "Well, now that we're close to penetrating The Smash Territory, we should consider drawing up territorial lines."

"Well, what are your plans?" Peach asked curiously.

"I think that, when we liberate the Gerudo Valley, it'll become part of Hyrule once again," Zelda said, "And, when we capture Bowser, the Mushroom Kingdom can have the Badlands. However, we need to discuss on the more complicated territory: Dreamland."

"Dreamland?" asked Luigi, lifting his head from the ground, "We agreed that Dreamland was off limits until they choose a side."

"But, they're helping the enemy," Zelda answered, almost like the answer was obvious, "I know that Warden Dedede would rather join Ganondorf than us. We simply can't risk it."

"But Dedede has done nothing to the Kingdom of Hyrule nor the Mushroom Kingdom," Luigi responded, a little more aggressive than his previous remarks, "This is about something else, isn't it?"

Before the situation escalated further, Peach interjected, in an attempt to restore the peace in the room, "Let's not talk about it right now… We should focus on what to do next, not what will happen after the war. A couple of victories don't make us conquerors."

"I agree," Luigi said while he glared at Zelda.

Zelda shook her head and muttered, "You don't understand…" Her gaze took her out of the tent, seeing that Dark Pit was tied to a post outside of the blacksmith's tent. When he saw the High King, clad in his armor and crown, approach the prisoner, she excused herself from the tent without another word.

"You know I won't talk," Dark Pit said to the High King.

"If you don't talk, you'll suffer longer," High King Mario warned the prisoner with one hand on the red pommel of his sword, "I just want to help you."

"Help me betray the King I am sworn to? Yeah, let me suffer, False King."

High King Mario shook his head and walked away from the prisoner. Clearly, he did not see Princess Zelda because he walked straight past her and into the large tent that Zelda just left. Dark Pit resumed the position he was in before, with his head down, when Zelda walked in front of him. The prisoner looked up, quite annoyed, and seemed to expect to see Zelda.

"Palutena have mercy, what do you want?!" Dark Pit cussed, "I told your False King that I'd rather stew here than betray the true King of the Realm!"

"You don't need to talk, Boy," Zelda said, talking down to the prisoner, "I'll do the talking, then maybe you'll have a _change of heart_. So, you don't have to do anything but listen."

"What makes you think that I'd listen to you?" Dark Pit snapped before spitting at Zelda's feet.

Zelda shook her, almost in disappointment, and let out a small, airless laugh. Almost a second later, Dark Pit looked behind her and saw two Hylian soldiers, one wielding a sharp steel axe. One went behind Dark Pit and grabbed hold of his dark wing while the other kept him at bay in the front. As Dark Pit shouted and tried to fight off the Hylians, the Hylian in the front covered his mouth while standing on his legs, preventing Dark Pit from squirming. The prisoner suddenly stopped fighting when he felt the blade of the axe tear his dark wing slightly. However, it stopped at Zelda's command.

"Do I have your attention now?" Zelda asked, a mixture of calmness and scornfulness in her voice. Before Dark Pit said anything, Zelda continued, "You're a better fighter than Pit, but your ability as a fighter makes you incredibly naive. Ganondorf has been the King of the Realm for only a few months. Before that, he was the _Prince_ of a virtually powerless territory. Meanwhile, I've been leading the most prosperous Kingdom in this Realm basically since my childhood."

"We have something you don't," Dark Pit said, struggling to get words out from the grip of the Hylian around his head, "We have power, _Lady Zelda_ —!"

"Power?" Zelda almost scoffed. She turned to the Hylian behind Dark Pit and ordered, "Cut off his wing then kill him… Slowly."

Dark Pit winced for a split second before Zelda suddenly said, extremely calmly, "Actually, I've changed my mind; let him go,"

The prisoner opened his eyes and saw the two Hylians around him stand up, letting go of the parts of him that they were holding onto. "Now, fetch me my dagger, then go into the kitchen and get me something to drink; something warm."

As one of them gave the princess a jagged dagger, the other left quickly and briskly walked down the path of the camp. The Princess looked down at Dark Pit, who watched the two Hylians with great confusion. Zelda knelt down next to Dark Pit and whispered, "Don't you see that you aren't in Smashville anymore? Or with your precious Gerudos and Koopas? You have _absolutely no power_ here. The fact that you think you can act like this makes you a fool. I can have you killed when I like, _how_ I like. Don't you ever forget that."

Zelda rose her hand which held the knife above her head. Dark Pit, once more, flinched and prepared for a slash. However, he just felt her cut off a few of the black angelic feathers on his black wings. When Dark Pit opened his eyes, he saw Zelda stand up, with the jagged blade still in her hand, walk away from the post and meet one of the Hylian soldiers on the path of the camp. In the Hylian soldier's hand was a cup of steaming tea. As Zelda took the tea from the soldier, Dark Pit heard the soldier say, "There wasn't any tea left from dinner, Your Majesty. I had the Toads in the kitchen make this one as fast as they could."


	4. Lord Kirby

It had been a few weeks since Kirby left Dreamland to aid the crown in the war against the Hylian-Toad Rebellion. Since his first day, Kirby had made much progress to get on King Ganon's good side; he suggested a strategic retreat to the Gerudo Valley that would allow Mewtwo to unleash his Pokemon re-enforcements. In addition, he wrote many times to Warden Dedede (and received letters in return). After Kirby finished his reply to the Warden of Dreamland, he folded the letter (as well as he could, anyway) and put the letter in an envelop. He walked out of his chamber in the castle and down the hallway, which had a shiny floor and several Gerudo-style antics and paintings. He handed it to a Gerudo guard to send out to Dreamland. When Kirby turned around, he saw the Queen, Rosalina, enter the throne room. He did not see her face, only the very end of her sky-blue gown and matching shoes. Curious, Kirby followed her inside.

Kirby entered the throne room, seeing that Rosalina walked up and stood next to Samus Aran. Because he had been reading and replying to many letters, Kirby forgot that King Ganon was answering various requests from the residents of Smashville. The pink puffball took note of the great hall in which the Throne of Smash was in; the long hall must have been at least seventy feet in length with many sand-coloured pillars to support the incredibly high ceiling. Besides a carpet in the center of the room, which led from the main entrance to the steps ascending to the throne, the main area of the room was scarcely decorated. Samus, Rosalina and Kirby stood on an elevated balcony, that was only about seven feet above the main area, to the right of the throne. The balcony had a staircase that went down to the main area, just to the right of the steps of the throne.

"You must listen, Your Grace," a Koopa in rags begged, "We haven't had any food in days; all we ask is for some bread for the week."

"We are at war," King Ganon said without the slightest bit of sympathy in his voice. He adjusted the large golden crown on his head, which had two diamonds on it and a ruby broken up in the form of a Smash Ball, "All of the resources in the city must go to our troops on the front. If you want to eat, go enlist yourself into the army."

"But Your Grace, can't you spare some food from one of the many feasts you have? There's basically a famine outside while you're kept up in your keep eating to your heart's content—!"

"Get him out of my sight!" King Ganon ordered loudly, his voice booming through the hall.

As several members of the King's Guard grabbed the poor Koopa and forced him out the throne room, King Ganon slumped in the largely uncomfortable throne. Samus, who looked disgusted, left the throne room without acknowledging the King's fiancée. After Samus left, King Ganon sighed, got up from his chair and walked up to the balcony. There, he saw Rosalina, who looked as sweet as she always did, and Kirby.

"Have you heard from Warden Dedede lately?" King Ganon asked tiredly.

Kirby answered, "Yes, Your Grace. He's trying to organize his own army right now; the people of Dreamland are lazy, so it may take… Some time for them to mobilize."

"We've been at war for nearly a month and a half now; how much longer do they need?" King Ganon asked again.

Kirby thought for a second then gave his answer, "Several more months, perhaps. Maybe longer."

The King, who was already annoyed and tired from taking requests from peasants, groaned in frustration, "You better hope that this strategic retreat works. If it doesn't, I'm recalling Lord Bowser from the front line and executing him for his failures."

Angrier than before, the King left the throne room to go brood somewhere else. As the skirmishes and fights in Hyrule Field continued to fall in favor of the Hylians and Toads, King Ganon's reputation as a tyrant continued to come to fruition. Rosalina, who seemed unfazed by King Ganon's promise, walked down to the main area and to the steps just below the throne. Observing her, Kirby walked down the steps to meet her.

When he was next to her, Rosalina greeted, "I didn't see you there, Lord Kirby."

"I'm not a Lord," Kirby corrected with a sigh, "Why does everybody think that I'm a Lord?"

"Well, you have the status of a Lord; the so-called _Hero of Dreamland_ , _the Savior of Popstar…_ " responded Rosalina, "I just assumed that Warden Dedede made you a Lord."

"Well, there's not much to be a _Lord of_ in Dreamland," Kirby explained, looking up at the Throne of Smash, "You know, the people just don't care enough to properly respect the kinship of the Realm. The only people that do are connected to the Warden in some way or another."

"Really? Then, how are you connected to Dedede?" Rosalina asked, still not looking at Kirby.

"He's done many different things to the people of Dreamland, and I've stopped all of his plans," Kirby explained briefly and blankly, "I guess that what contributes to this _status_ thing that all the Smashers have."

"Interesting," Rosalina nodded, listening closely, "I was just asking because I'm interested in the connections people have, you know. All the time, I ask my King about how he knows different people; you know, like Captain Falcon, Mewtwo, Lord Bowser, Wolf, Dark Pit…"

"What interests you about connections?" Kirby inquired.

"Well, I'm sure you know by now, people ask me all the time, "Oh! How could you leave the Mushroom Lands to be married to a _monster_ like King Ganon?" Well, that got me thinking about connections, and because of my own goals, I like to know certain things about certain people for… Leverage."

"Leverage? Leverage for what? And what are your goals?" a confused Kirby questioned. He turned his attention back to Rosalina.

Rosalina rose her eyebrows and nodded to her left. As Kirby followed her nod, which was aimed towards the Throne of Smash. No longer having eye-contact with Kirby, she continued, "I want to be Queen. I will do anything to be in a position of that… Status. Of course, I don't expect you to understand, but now you know why I deal with a man like our King."

Kirby looked down at the ground, then back up at the throne, still comprehending it. "Good day, _Lord Kirby_ ," Rosalina bid, smiling slightly, "I hope to see you soon."

A confused Kirby left the throne room, which was completely empty now, and walked down the hallway. He passed several Gerudo and Koopa guards, approaching another chamber in a tower opposite of Kirby's guest chamber. When he finally got over to the tower, he climbed the sand-coloured staircase to the top of the tower. There, he saw Meta Knight looking out of an open window mysteriously in an empty room with sandstone walls.

"Can you explain something to me?" Kirby asked as he entered the room.

Meta Knight did not respond, but Kirby continued anyway, "What's the deal with Rosalina?"

Meta Knight slightly leaned back while his cape was still wrapped around his ball-shape body. He did not turn to Kirby, but he still responded to him, "When Master Hand died, there was a power vacuum in the Realm. The same thing that compelled Ganondorf, and Marth, to consolidate power compelled Rosalina. However, unlike Ganondorf and Marth, Rosalina took more of a cunning approach."

"Cunning?"

"After Ganon crowned himself King, she saw an opportunity of gaining a massive amount of power in a short time; she made herself irresistible to the King, and now she's going to be his Queen."

"At the expense of her reputation in the Mushroom Lands," Kirby commented, coming to a better, but not a full, understanding.

Suddenly, Kirby felt somebody behind him in chainmail. He turned around and saw an armored Koopa with a note. "It's from the King, My Lord," the Koopa informed, "He wishes to meet you in the Small Council chamber."

When Kirby got to the chamber of the Small Council, he saw King Ganon sitting at the head of the wooden table. On the table directly in front of the King was the Golden Crown that he had been wearing early. Kirby found it strange that King Ganon sat alone in a chamber, not one of the King's Guard in sight.

"Your Grace," Kirby greeted, looking up at the giant King, "What do you need?"

"Please take a seat," King Ganon said, motioning his hand towards a chair. After Kirby hopped onto one of the seats, the King cleared his throat, "I would like to name you a Lord."

Surprised by the announcement, Kirby leaned back in the chair, taking it in. A few seconds later, Kirby asked, "A Lord of what land?"

"Green Greens and Butter Building," King Ganon said, putting a letter from Warden Dedede on the table. King Ganon nodded towards the letter. Kirby reached to grab it and opened the letter while he sat in his chair. The letter declared that Kirby would now be a Lord in Dreamland; the Lord of Green Greens and Butter Building, to be precise. Although Kirby already was widely respected in Dreamland, this letter, verified by Dedede, would officially make him the second-most powerful person in Dreamland (next to the Warden himself).

"Kirby, Hero of Dreamland, Savior of Popstar, Lord of Green Greens and Butter Building," King Ganon recited, "How does that sound?"

Kirby smiled, but soon wiped the smile off his face, "What's the catch?"

"Well, I want you on the front for a day," King Ganon said, "Oversee the defense of the Gerudo Valley, then, if the defense is a success, you'll return to Dreamland and work with Dedede to raise the army for reinforcements. However, if the defense fails, I want your help. In the short time you've been in The Capital, you've become my best advisor. Captain Falcon's okay, and so are Mewtwo and Wolf, but I can trust you more; you've got that aesthetic, I guess."

"Anything else before I get going?" Kirby asked.

"One more thing," King Ganon answered.

The King whistled and summoned two Gerudos carrying individual items: a green cap with a star on the end and several blades around the crown of it (specifically in the areas where Kirby's ears _would_ be); and a sword with a baby blue hilt with a star emblem in the middle of the crossguard. The blade itself was regular steel outlining a silver-blue filling in the center.

Kirby took the sword as the Gerudo put the cap on the table. "It's forged with Sarasa Steel, the finest and rarest steel in the world. There are only a handful of blades made of the same material, my own included," King Ganon said proudly, "Accept this as a gift, and a welcome of sorts, into Lordship."

Kirby looked down at the sword, then back at the King with a smile, "Thank you, Your Grace."

* * *

"WAKE UP!" somebody yelled, shaking Lucina awake. In a cold sweat, Lucina rose and punched whatever was in front of her face. She calmed down a second later and saw Roy in his blue armor, holding his bloodied nose.

"What the hell's going on!?" Lucina screamed, angry that Roy was in her room in the middle of the night and had woken her up violently.

Roy panted, "You need to get up; we're under attack."

Lucina rose and grabbed her sword from the dresser five feet from her bed. She did no bother taking the sheath and just grabbed the blade. She had no time to put on her armour neither, running out of her relatively small chamber still in her loose-fitting pajamas. In the street, she saw many houses of the village on fire, yet no bodies on the ground. Several soldiers from Marth's army ran in and out of houses, rescuing certain villagers from the houses.

"It's Sarasaland," Roy kept panting, "I guess Princess Daisy doesn't like our presence in this Land."

Suddenly, Lucina saw a soldier wearing metallic orange armor with a sword and shield. On the shield was an orange flower. Quickly, Lucina pushed Roy out of the way and caught the soldier's sword with hers. She attacked, but her swing was blocked by the shield. As Lucina fought off a soldier, Roy looked at the wooden Long Hall, which was also on fire. Directly in front of the Long Hall, King Marth cut down an orange-wearing soldier and looked up. He saw Roy standing in the middle of the street, as the village was descended into madness. He ran towards Roy as a nearby empty cottage exploded in flames.

Just as the King got to Roy, Lucina slashed the orange-wearing soldier down. She spun her sword in her hand and turned around to see Roy and Marth with each other. "When did this start?" Lucina asked.

"We've been going at it for like ten minutes," King Marth panted, "We need to keep moving, or else we're as good as dead."

As the trio ran down the single street of the village, it only seemed more and more buildings were on fire. While they ran down the round, they encountered a group of ten Sarasa Soldiers, who just destroyed a force of twenty from Marth's side. As Roy, Lucina and the King readied themselves, Ike kicked out a door of a burning cottage. Ike was covered in ash and sweat from the burning building, and next to him was Robin, who held a burning tome in his hand.

"It's time to tip the scale!" Robin declared, valiantly.

"Shut the hell up, Robin," Ike muttered as he carried his sword in his hand.

Robin sighed, tossing his burning tome to the side. As they joined the other three, Robin drew his own sword. "What happened to your…?" Lucina asked,

"Tomes? They all burned thanks to these brutes," Robin rolled his eyes.

Roy grunted, turning his attention back to the twenty Sarasa soldiers, "Why are you here!?"

"Orders from Her Majesty, Princess Daisy," one of the soldiers in the front declared, "She doesn't want you here anymore, so we were sent to take care of it. If you surrender now, we'll take you, and your little army, back to Sarasaland as prisoners."

"I'll never surrender," the King said, gripping his sword as hard as he could.

Within a second, the King charged into the crowd of twenty soldiers. Behind him were Lucina, Roy, Ike and Robin. The five warriors battered into the crowd of twenty soldiers, with their weapons drawn. Immediately, Ike swung his sword wildly, hitting seven soldiers. As a few of them rose from the incredibly hard strike, Ike kept swinging. Next to him, Roy clashed with three soldiers at once. After he blocked many attacks from the three, Roy's sword caught fire; easily, he cut down all three of them with his fiery blade and continued to down almost anybody in his path. Lucina herself cut through several of the ill-prepared Sarasa soldiers without taking any hits. The frenzy of their battle was wild, ending mere minutes later; all five of the warriors were exhausted and dirty, but alive and surrounded by the fallen Sarasa.

The next morning, King Marth and Lucina stood in the middle of the village. The day was warm and bright along the countryside, but the village was virtually in ruins; most of the cottages and buildings were engulfed in flames, and several exploded. The people of the village were grateful that King Marth was able to drive the Sarasa forces out of their village with his own army. As Marth observed the damage from the ambush the night before, Lucina saw Ike inspecting one of the fallen Sarasa soldiers. Besides the sword and shield, there was a note from the Princess of Sarasa, Daisy.

When Lucina saw the letter, she approached Ike. After Ike finished reading it, she asked, "What does it say?"

"It says that Princess Daisy authorized the attack in the name of _High King Mario_ ," Ike muttered in surprise, "It said that any threat to the Mario's regime is a threat to Sarasaland…"

Lucina nodded, "I guess we can't keep a low-profile until the war for the ends. It looks like we have a war of our own to deal with."

"We have to try to negotiate a peace," Ike suggested, "There's just no way that Princess Daisy authorized this attack; she's a peaceful ruler. Besides, she spends all her time in the Mushroom Lands anyway."

"She _used to_ , before Master Hand got killed," Lucina corrected, adjusting her pin, "It makes sense for her to support High King Mario."

"How far away do you think Sarasaland is from here?" Ike asked, rising from his knee.

Lucina though about this for a second. When she looked down at the fallen soldier, she said, "Three weeks, maybe four, on foot. You know, when you take into consideration stopping for rest or food. Maybe two and a half by horse, taking rest and eating into consideration again."

"If you think that I'm sending you both to Sarasaland, _immediately after this_ , then you're insane," somebody said from behind Lucina; it was their King, Marth, "I'm not sending my Hand and my Commander into the heart of enemy territory right after a declaration of war."

"We'll be safe, my King," Ike said respectfully, "We can't afford to wage a war in exile; the entire point of our exile is to _stay out of the violence_ in the Realm. If we achieve peace here, then we can just focus on our invasion."

"Besides, Roy and Robin can take our place temporarily," Lucina advised, "Roy's Roy, and Robin proved himself last night; he slayed twenty Sarasa soldiers by himself _before_ that last confrontation, right?"

"He did," Ike recalled, "I'll admit, I was impressed."

The King sighed, "Princess Daisy won't even see you. The second she learns of your presence in Sarasaland, she'll have both of your heads shipped back to me within a day."

"It's Princess Daisy _, the Flower Princess_ ," Lucina rebutted, "She's not a ruthless killer like Ganondorf. If she refuses our council, then we'll get out of there."

"You're missing my point; you won't get out of there _alive_ ," King Marth said, again shaking his head in denial.

"Then, we'll get _the hell_ out of there," Ike promised with some wit, "We'll set out as soon as possible."


	5. The Battle for the Border

Following their High King over the smooth terrain of the Hylian-Gerudo border, Luigi rode a horse. He was alongside Link, who was on Epona, Zelda, Peach and Sonic, each of which were on the back of a white stallion. They were to meet the battle commanders of the Gerudo-Koopa forces that they had driving back so far from their initial point in Kakariko. Since that date weeks ago, they had been on the run. The suggestion of a strategic retreat worked, allowing the Gerudo-Koopa Army to regroup. In the middle of the field were the battle commanders for the enemy: Lord Bowser, a green Koopa aback a horse, Mewtwo, and, to their surprise, Kirby.

When the two opposing sides met, there was silencing for a few seconds with the commanders on both sides attempting to intimidate each other. Seeing that the opposite side would not talk, Luigi spoke up to break the silence, "You know why we're here, My Lord. Thousands of soldiers don't need to die tomorrow, and you don't have the numbers to win a battle."

"If you think that we'll surrender, then you're a lunatic," Bowser snapped with in a low, monstrous voice, "We may not have the men that you do, but we're not here to negotiate terms of surrender. The battle will begin at nine o'clock tomorrow, no sooner nor later."

More silence followed, both sides eying one-another down maliciously. Zelda broke her gaze on Bowser and Mewtwo, turning to Kirby, who looked as if he could stand on the saddle of his horse and still be the same height. She nodded towards him and spoke, "Lord Kirby, you're not one to choose a losing side… Or an inherently evil one at that… It is _Lord_ Kirby now, isn't it?"

"Well Your Majesty, I'm only here to observe," Kirby answered quickly, almost as cold and calculating of a voice as the one Zelda was known for, "After tomorrow's battle, maybe it will be time for Warden Dedede to choose a side. And, depending on the results, I suggest that you watch your words; you don't want to say anything that may hurt your chances of being backed by Dreamland."

"We don't need Dreamland," High King Mario responded bluntly, "I expected better from you, my Lord."

"You don't need Dreamland? Are you sure about that?" Kirby asked. The tone of his response unnerved Luigi; Zelda and the issue of Dreamland confused him, especially since nobody bothered to inform him about what the problem between the two lands were.

Hoping to move on, Luigi began cleared his throat and turned to Lord Bowser, "My Lord, we have sixty-thousand men, with tens of thousands more in reserves. You have, what? Half that? Or one-third? You don't have the men, you don't have the horses; there's no need for a battle."

"We will be ready at nine o'clock, My Lord-Hand," Lord Bowser sternly announced, "I suggest you be ready by then."

With that last announcement, Bowser and the others rode back towards the Gerudo-Koopa line. When High King Mario turned around and headed for the Hylian-Mushroom camp, Luigi hung back with Peach and Sonic. The other three (Mario, Zelda and Link) did not notice that they were riding slower purposely.

"What's the deal between Hyrule and Dreamland?" Luigi asked quietly, "We can't talk about post-war plans without Princess Zelda bringing up Dreamland."

Thinking, Sonic said, "The Warden leans towards supporting King Ganon. Zelda must perceive anything remotely associated with Ganon as an enemy. In her defence, they have Lord Kirby on their side… Even if he is just spectating."

"I'm not entirely sure that it's just that," Luigi rebutted, "There's something deeper to this, I know it."

"Well, Dreamland and Hyrule were at war for several years thousands of years ago," Peach answered, recalling the history she learned as a child, "Dreamland was an upstart Kingdom and Hyrule was a seasoned-Empire at that point. I know that the Hylians invaded Dreamland, occupied it for hundreds of years, and eventually left. But, it's been centuries since that war; almost nobody in Dreamland holds a grudge. Hell, even the average Hylian doesn't hold a grudge against Dreamland."

After a few seconds of thinking, Luigi looked eastward, "I'll leave for Castle Town at dawn and do some research. Tell our High King that I received a letter from Wario in Mushroom City; I have to deal with matters that our King cannot be bothered with."

"Good thinking, My Lord-Hand," Sonic nodded, impressed, "I'll go to Dreamland myself after the battle tomorrow; maybe Warden Dedede could tell me something about his hatred for Hyrule."

* * *

"FIRST BRIGADE! GO!"

At the crack of the voice, the first brigade from the Hylian-Mushroom line charged across the open terrain of the field. Cavalry was set up in the front, while regular-foot soldiers were in behind them. The cavalry was the shape of a spear, headed by Link and Epona. As they drew close, several Koopas and Gerudos, lined up as archers on the black gate that was built in between the two mountainous sides. The gate separated the green fields of Hyrule from the desert sands of the Gerudo Valley. Arrow rained down from the sky and onto the Hylian-Toad charge but did not remotely faze the spearhead. When they drew close to the gate, the cavalry smashed into the front line of Gerudos and Koopas set up to defend the gate. A few Hylians and Toads were sent flying off their horses, into the middle of the Gerudo and Koopa defenses. The spearheaded charge completely shattered the front line, having successfully trampled the Gerudos and Koopas there; Lord Bowser's planned defense was completely obliterated by High King Mario. Link hopped of Epona, with his Master Sword drawn, and finished a sprawled-out Gerudo.

About two hundred feet behind the successful charge, High King Mario watched atop his Yoshi with Zelda to his side. In front of the High King were many lines of Hylians and Toads, waiting for their turn to charge. "Tell Lord Sonic to lead another brigade; go to the left flank of their line and engage more of their men," High King Mario ordered a nearby Toad without taking his eyes off the battle, "I'll lead the third charge if we need one."

On the front, Link swung his shield, knocking down a Koopa into the dirt hard. Link turned around and swung his sword into the shield of a nearby Gerudo. The Gerudo pulled the shield closer to herself in an attempt to get Link's sword out. However, his attempt only drew Link closer. Link threw his head forward, knocking the Gerudo back hard, and pulled his sword from the shield. Easily, Link stabbed the stunned Gerudo and withdrew his sword quickly after. When he felt somebody smack him in the back with a mace, Link turned around and saw a helpless Koopa, holding a mace and a shield. The Koopa stopped when he saw Link's piercing expression through the dirt that covered his face.

"Oh, um—"

Within a second, the Koopa was smashed out of the way by a freely-running stallion. Link shrugged and turned back to the battle. In all directions, Hylians and Toads were fighting Koopas and Gerudos in the destroyed grass of the once smooth field. Reacting to something behind him, Link spun around and slashed his sword across his body, making direct contact with a charging Gerudo. The Gerudo spun to her left, having absorbed most of the blow with her chained armor. While the Gerudo was on his knees, Link rose his sword, with both hands, and swung downwards at the wounded enemy.

On the hill behind the gates, Kirby watched a Hylian get slashed by the swing of a Koopa's sword. Almost immediately after the Hylian was slain, the Koopa himself was slain by another Hylian, who was also soon slain by an arrow to the knee. Kirby turned back to face Lord Bowser and Mewtwo, who stood in the comfort of a tent slightly elevated from the field of battle. They seemed to be completely oblivious to the battle going on just below them, which heavily favoured the High King. Frustrated that Lord Bowser and Mewtwo were sending leaderless troops to their deaths, Kirby grabbed his sword and green cap. He hopped down to the area behind the gate and onto the Gerudo sand. There, several Gerudos and Koopas, in reserves, seemed hopeless.

"In the name of King Marth, you must do this," Kirby told himself with a heavy sigh, "If High King Mario wins this battle, The Rightful King of the Realm stands no chance of claiming his place as Protector of the Realm."

Kirby stood in front of the gate, while the battle slowly started turning into a massacre, and shouted, "Hey! Get ready to go out!"

"Go out and get killed! To hell with that!" a Koopa yelled, "I'm not dying for those men up there!"

The Koopa pointed the towards the tent where Lord Bowser and Mewtwo stood. Several of the men in reserves cheered behind this Koopa, for they would not die for Lord Bowser, or Mewtwo, neither.

"Don't fight for them!" Kirby shouted, attempting to rally the troops, "Don't fight for honor, or the King, or any of that crap! Fight for each other, fight for yourself! If we go out now, while they least expect it, history will talk about this day! They will talk about this as the moment in time where the Hylian-Mushroom rebellion ended! But, if we do nothing now, I'll die, you'll die, your friends will die; who's to say that High King Mario will stop there? He'll keep going until we're all gone, and nothing of the Koopa or Gerudo is left! Those are brave men out there beyond this gate, fighting valiantly, but blindly behind a False King; let's go kill them!"

Kirby drew his sword and held as high as he could. Now, the men were rallied behind Kirby, and they were dangerously lusting for battle now. "FOLLOW!" Kirby yelled, running for the gate.

* * *

As Link panted, he looked around himself again; the carnage from their battle was unmeasurable, but there were still a few Gerudos and Koopas fighting with their last breaths. The field was complete dirt around the gate; all the grass had gone away from the feet, swords, axes, arrows and so on. Link approached an armored Sonic, who wore incredibly light leather armor. Sonic had led the flanking charge which had taken out most of the Gerudo and Koopa. The hellish atmosphere of battle had subsided slightly; now it was relatively calmer with most of the archers had been dealt with. The Hylians and Toads ruled the day temporarily.

"General Link," Sonic greeted with a pant as he shook out his tired arms. Link only nodded in response, "...You don't say much, huh, General?"

However, before Link could respond, the gate opened; now, sprinting at the forces at full-tilt was a counter-offensive led by Kirby, clad in his green cap and with his sword in hand. Taken by surprise, many Hylians and Toads fell to the hands of the reserves of the Gerudo-Koopa army. As the many Koopas and Gerudos swung at anything that moved in front of them, Hylians and Toads fell to the hard dirt below them. Link and Sonic quickly straightened up and readied themselves for battle once again. An exhausted Link swung his sword wildly at the first person he saw, while Sonic ran back to tell Mario about what he had just seen. However, before he could get away from the field of battle, somebody tripped him. Sonic quickly rose and saw Kirby, dirt smeared across his left rosy cheek. A Toad with a battle axe charged Kirby's left side, but Kirby ducked under the swing and countered without taking his eyes off Sonic.

"You're only observing, yeah?" Sonic rhetorically asked as the Toad fell onto his face.

"You don't have to fight me," Kirby warned as he and Sonic circled each other, sizing one-another up, "You have no loyalty towards High King Mario; how much did he pay you? Or was it Lady Zelda?"

"What's your point?" Sonic said, malice in his voice.

After seeing that a counter-attack was launched, High King Mario grabbed the red grip of his sword at his hip and prepared for a charge. However, he felt a hand stop him; it was Zelda's. "Don't," she warned, "If you're going to charge, don't do it yet."

"Why not?" High King Mario asked, "If we don't win this battle—"

"We'll have another chance at a later time," Zelda interrupted him quickly, "We don't _have to_ win this battle right now. If we lose, we'll still have the upper hand in this war; if you charge now—"

Mario shrugged, shaking Zelda's hand off his shoulder, and drew his sword. The final brigade began to cheer as their High King charged into battle; they followed their leader without question. However, Zelda looked on, shaking her head at Mario's mistake.

In the middle of the battle, Link fought off three Koopas and two Gerudos by himself. As he attacked all five of them, at the same time, somebody struck him on the back of the head. He turned and saw Kirby. The five attackers backed off as Kirby and Link squared one another up. Link swung at Kirby, but Kirby caught the blade of the Master Sword with his own sword and pushed Link back. An aggressive Link attacked Kirby many times, but Kirby seemed to have anticipated all the attacks, for he kept blocking and dodging them. When Link put his guard down and swung his sword wildly, Kirby sidestepped; the tip of the Master Sword pierced directly into the ground. Link tried to pull it up quickly, but it was stuck in the hard dirt. Seeing his opportunity, Kirby left his feet and slashed Link across the face. Link fell backwards, landing on his wounded face. When he did not move, several Hylians and Toads launched themselves at the five Gerudos and Koopas, but Kirby was out of sight. And, when Lord Bowser saw several Toads and Hylians carrying their fallen General from battle, he nodded at Mewtwo.

As the last brigade engaged the counter-attack which more-or-less turned into a stalemate, High King Mario hung back when he saw four Hylians and two Toads escorting Epona back to their camp with Link on her back. Quickly, the High King stopped his Yoshi and shouted, "What happened to the General?"

"He was wounded, Your Majesty; hit across the face with Sarasa Steel," a Hylian regretfully informed.

Worriedly, High King Mario asked, "Is he alive?"

"Barely; he's unresponsive, but alive. I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but we need to keep moving."

As the Hylians and Toads escorted Epona as fast as they could, High King Mario heard several cries and shouts he did not initially recognize; however, a few seconds later, he recognized the cries: Pokemon.

The High King turned, in near horror and saw hundreds of Pokemon come from the gate, supporting the Gerudo and Koopa forces. One of them, a Dragonite, flew towards him and then straight down at him. Quickly, Mario noticed that the Dragonite's eyes were not normal; they were extremely menacing, and the iris was tinted red. The High King drew his sword and swung his sword to stop the Dragonite's charge. He struck the Dragonite directly, sending it back towards the empty field, fainted. High King Mario turned back to the field of battle, where he saw a Charizard destroying several Hylians and Toads with his flames; a Pikachu send several lightning bolts down onto the Hylian soldiers; a Bulbasaur obliterate several Toads with leaves as sharp as daggers and seeds as fine as bullets. The Pokemon savagely and mercilessly took out many Hylians and Toads, almost as much as the Gerudo and Koopa had. The difference was, however, the Gerudo and Koopa had been fighting for much longer. The Pokemon were only out for a minute, maybe even less, and already inflicted as much damage on the High King's forces.

When High King Mario witnessed an Electrode blow up, annihilating several more of his troops within seconds, he was at a crossroads and began to panic. Suddenly and almost instinctively, the High King screamed, "Retreat!"

"You heard him!" a Hylian relayed the message, "Get back! Go!"

* * *

Zelda anxiously entered a medical tent immediately after the first defeat of High King Mario's rebellion. The tent, which only consisted of about ten beds, housed almost one-hundred wounded—and this was only one tent out of hundreds. She stepped through the tent of wounded soldiers being nursed by various Toadettes and Hylian nurses, and entered the back room. In the back room, she saw High King Mario sitting alongside Sonic. They sat next to a bed, in which Link laid. Link was still unconscious; he had not woken up since the battle ended, and his face was covered by a cloth that was stained red.

"How is he?" Zelda asked worriedly.

"They said he's in a coma," the High King muttered, still coping with their defeat, "They don't know when he'll wake up."

"We just lost our General," Sonic sighed, leaning forward in his chair while looking at the ground.

When the nurse, a Toadette, lifted the cloth from Link's face, Zelda looked closely at it; there was a gash that stretched across his left cheek to his nose. The cut was incredibly deep and fresh, but it was healing thanks to the several fairies provided by the nurses. Despite the fairies, however, Link would not wake up. Immediately, Zelda knew the blade that ended her Knight was the same material that her dagger was made of: Sarasa Steel. No other steel in the world could cut that deep and that cleanly.

"Any sign of Kirby during the battle?" Zelda asked, watching as the nurses replaced the cloth on the General's face.

"I'm going to Dreamland to discuss that with Dedede, actually," Sonic announced, straightening up in his chair, "I think that I can get him to side with us; if we can get Dedede on our side, then maybe Kirby will follow."

"But, did you see him during the battle?" Zelda asked once again, turning to him. By the tone of her voice, it was obvious that she was shaken from the sight of her fallen silent warrior.

"…Briefly," Sonic sighed.

"I should've listened to you," the High King muttered, looking down at the ground, "Sending men to fight other men is one thing, but Pokemon? They looked like chained-animals out there… Savaged, chained animals…"

"We have to recover," Zelda advised, still sounding shaken, "Morale is low right now, but we have to recover; the fate of the Realm depends on it, Your Majesty."

The High King took in a heavy breath, "We'll be able to keep camp here for a few days… Whether we liked it or not, this has become a siege, and my Council is shorthanded. Sonic, you should get some supplies and head towards Dreamland as soon as possible. It's a far ride from here; Hyrule is the biggest Kingdom in the Realm…"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Sonic obeyed. The blue hedgehog got up and, without another word, left the tent.


	6. The Path to Sarasaland

After the Hylian-Mushroom's failure at the Gerudo Border, word spread quickly across the Realm that High King Mario's rebellion, once rolling through the faltering Gerudo and Koopa in the opening months of the more, was halted and slaughtered directly in front of the Gerudo Valley. Not only did the High King's first lost spread quickly but so did Lord Bowser and Mewtwo's unorthodox tactic of a so-called _Pokemon Brigade_. In the chamber of the Small Council in King Ganon's keep, Captain Falcon and Meta Knight sat waiting to start King Ganon's briefing on the battle. In addition to the briefing, Meta Knight and Captain Falcon wanted to ask about what would happen next in the war raging in the Fields of Hyrule. After they took their respective seats, with three of them now empty, due to Lord Bowser, Mewtwo and Dark Pit's absence. Captain Falcon cleared his throat in order to signify that he was ready to begin.

"Your Grace, we have successfully repelled the Hylian-Mushroom Forces; we took heavy casualties, but they took even more," Captain Falcon told King Ganon after they sat around the table of the Small Council.

King Ganon, who sat at the head of the table as he always did, nodded and leaned back into his chair, "How did our Pokemon Brigade do?"

"It worked extremely effectively," Captain Falcon answered as he made eye-contact with Meta Knight, who sat directly across from him, "They inflicted most of the casualties, Your Grace. Those rebels did not expect it in the slightest."

"Perfect," the King smiled slightly, "With the Pokemon, we should be able to put down this rebellion soon and focus on matters that actually matter to the Realm."

"Such as?" Meta Knight inquired distantly.

"Such as the famine affecting the state," King Ganon replied after a second of thinking, "Many people who live just outside of these walls complain to me everyday, if I decide to receive them, about how the food shortage."

"Well, if you let me speak freely, Your Grace, you do have an abundance of food stored in the castle," Meta Knight said, "You could sacrifice some of your own food, perhaps—"

"I will not," King Ganon quickly snapped, "There's a famine in the Smash Territory; why would I risk starving? I'm a King, not a peasant."

"And, because you're the King, you should help your people, no?" Meta Knight said, lightly challenging his King.

"The King can do as he likes," King Ganon responded coldly. He brushed off Meta Knight's challenge and changed the subject, "Now, in terms of our strategy going forward, are there any suggestions in the room?"

"Keep the pressure on," Captain Falcon recommended confidently, "Show them your moves; with our victory and current morale, we could run those traitors out of the Realm all along. After that, arrest this High King and Lady Zelda and execute them like the dogs they are."

"That's a big picture idea, My Lord," Meta Knight warned putting his hand up. Captain Falcon sat back down, letting some of that confidence go, "However, your _idea_ doesn't address what has been, and will continue to be, a long, drawn out fight with the Hylians and Toads. If you haven't noticed, we've only stopped their advance after they wiped the floor with us; we haven't had an offensive of our own."

"Well then, why don't we start an offensive?" Captain Falcon replied, "We'll drive them away from the Gerudo Border and keep pushing until they stop us, or until we crush them entirely; we can start by ambushing their camp outside of the Gerudo Valley."

"We'll have to act quickly," King Ganon agreed with Captain Falcon. The King turned to Meta Knight and continued, "Their greatest warrior, the Silent Knight as they call him in the Hyrule, might as well be dead. Do you really think an aging Italian plumber can rally a force of fifty thousand men? Or that bitch Zelda? As of right now, the rebellion is breaking, and we will profit from it."

* * *

Just off of the path beside a beach of the Orange Ocean, Lucina and Ike sat next to a fire; the night was clear and warm, so they only needed the fire for food. They choose this spot, just at the bottom of a sandy hill because it would provide cover from anybody who may pass them on the road, whether it be bandits, rogues, or Sarasa soldiers. Lucina laid with her back on a log across from Ike, who warmed his own food by the fire.

"How many days are we away from Daisy's castle?" Lucina asked while looking up at the sky.

"Probably seven or eight," Ike responded, checking if his roasted rabbit leg had cooked properly, "What are we going to do once we get there?"

"Disguise as merchants and investigate the town," Lucina suggested, adjusting herself onto the log to make the piece of dying wood more comfortable, "I mean, merchants will probably be the easiest thing to disguise as, don't you think?"

Ike shrugged, spinning the splinter in his hand. He again checked to see if his rabbit leg was roasted, which it was not. Disappointed, Ike sighed and answered Lucina, "Merchants or adventurers; we just need the proper dress."

"Proper dress, yeah. Where would we get it, though?" Lucina asked with a yawn.

"If we pass some traveling merchants, we'll ask them for some armor, that doesn't make us look like we're outsiders. Some regular steel armor would do nicely. Maybe leather for you... You know, since you enjoy light armor so much," Ike suggested, also feeling tired.

Lucina rolled over onto her side to face Ike. After she propped up onto her elbow, she explained, as if it were a code to live by, "Lightly armored means light on your feet; quickness kills. You should try it sometime. You may like it more than that metallic plate that weighs you down."

"I don't beat people with my quickness or finesse," Ike replied, taking his splinter away from the fire, "I overpower them with my brute strength. Heavily armored means _heavy_ on your feet. _You_ should try it sometime."

Lucina shook her head as she rolled back onto her back and scoffed, "Maybe if I want to get killed."

Ike bit down on his rabbit leg while Lucina closed her eyes, which only seemed to get heavier with every passing second. However, they heard somebody on the path about forty feet from their camp. Then, they heard several more, probably anywhere from three or four additional. By the sounds of it, they were horseback and armed as well. As they heard the boots of the Sarasa soldiers hit the ground, Lucina hopped off the log, into a crouched position, and whispered to Ike, "Put out that fire."

As Ike kicked sand onto the fire and stomp out the flames, Lucina grabbed her sword. She quickly, but silently, sneaked away from their camp with one hand on the grip of her sword. Slowly, Ike followed her to a nearby bank, about ten feet from their camp in the darkness. A second after they laid on the sand to hide themselves, several armed guards descended onto their camp. They saw four soldiers, decked out in Sarasa-style armor—orange leather over very light silver chainmail—holding the shiny orange curved hilts of their swords. Ike and Lucina remained perfectly still as their camp was investigated closely by the Sarasa soldiers.

"The fire's still warm, My Lord," a Sarasa soldier said after he felt the heat from the charred pieces of wood, "With the horses that we saw just above the hill, I'd say that they're more than just travelers."

"Adventurers, you reckon?" asked another.

"My gut says that they're outsiders; probably has something to do with Marth and his army on the coast."

"Well, they couldn't have gotten far. Search the area."

Ike rose to a knee slowly and held his great sword in his right hand tightly. As he readied to attack, he asked, "How many do you count?"

"Four," Lucina responded, slightly maneuvering in the sand, "Wearing some chainmail, nothing too noteworthy, and they only have swords on them. Must be reserves, not fighting soldiers… You take the two on the left, and I'll take the two on the right."

"Can I handle two of them, though? They're wearing _light armor_ , after all; I might be too slow."

"Shut up and go," Lucina responded quickly and not amused.

Lucina got up from her prone position, with her sword drawn, and sprinted at the Sarasa soldiers. As she stabbed on of them in the back, Ike came in with his sword above his head. He swung it down, knocking another soldier into the sand. As Lucina kicked the one she stabbed to the ground, one of the remaining Sarasa soldiers quickly attacked Lucina, knocking her in the side with his sword. The strength of the blow staggered Lucina, who dodged the ensuing slash from the Sarasa soldier. Quickly, she recovered from her stagger and caught the Sarasa blade with her own. During their lock, she pushed the soldier back and swung back. The Sarasa knocked away her swing and followed up by punching Lucina in the face. Over-confident, the soldier attempted to stab Lucina, but she spun away from the stab at last second. Finally, Lucina slashed the Sarasa soldier across the chest then again, sending him into the sand. To be sure, Lucina stabbed her sword down into the soldier's back. Short of breath, Lucina fell to a knee and panted hard. She heard Ike stab his greatsword into the sand and stood next to Lucina; clearly, he had an easier fight.

"Light armor's better, right?" Ike asked with a toothy grin, teasing the winded Lucina.

"Bite me," Lucina cussed.

Ike shook his head, helping the Hand of the King up, "Looks like we have our disguises now: Sarasa Soldiers."

* * *

After the gate opened, Luigi and Peach entered Hyrule's capital, Castle Town. However, because it was believed that they were going to the Mushroom Kingdom, they were in hiding; instead of her pink dress, which would make her easy to identify, she wore a regular, more modest dirty dress and a scarf that loosely cover her entire head, except for her face. As for Luigi, he wore a dirty-beige tunic, loose breeches, and no mustache. Without his mustache, or any hint of green, Luigi was near unrecognizable.

"I still don't fully understand why you shaved your mustache," Peach muttered as they walked into the city square. It was a crowded square with several buildings standing in front of Princess Zelda's castle. In the main area, with a fountain in the center, several people walked around and bought some things from the few markets in town (although there were few markets, there were many shops around the markets).

"I can grow it back in a day, two days tops," Luigi responded with a smile as he ran a hand through his brown hair, "We're looking for the Hylian Archives. I'd think that they'd be somewhere in the library."

"Hylians Archives, you say?" a passerby, who was an older Hylian in rather dirty rags, asked, having heard the tail-end of Peach and Luigi's brief conversation, "Go to the Library over there; the rich history of the Hylian Empire is in there, in the basement."

"Oh. Thank you," Peach smiled sweetly.

Luigi and Peach walked across the busy square, passing directly in front of the fountain in the center. As they passed it, Luigi felt as if the town was relatively at peace despite the war raging in the Hyrule Fields. They happened to pass a group of Hylian Soldiers, who had received a short break from the front. The Hylian soldiers were relaxed, sitting at a table in front of a local restaurant. As they were served their food, Luigi heard one of the Hylians soldiers say, "You hear about the battle on the Gerudo border? I heard that Lord Bowser sent in Pokemon to fight our High King."

"Pokemon? How many?"

"They say it was in the hundreds."

"There's no way that Bowser, the most incompetent battle-commander this Realm has ever seen, trained hundreds of Pokemon to fight for him. He has a hard-enough time getting his own soldiers to fight for him."

"But, he also has Mewtwo on the front with him now."

"My god. We had them Gerudo and Koopas on the run so long. Now, they've dug in at the Gerudo border… The _Battle_ has turned into a siege…"

After Luigi and Peach entered the library, Luigi turned to her and said, "Did you hear that? Pokemon? Can that be true?"

"It would why we couldn't breach the border," Peach replied with a nodded, "With the tide of the war, only an outsider's intervention would have saved Lord Bowser's army."

"How did Lord Bowser, or Mewtwo, get hundreds of Pokemon to fight in the name of Ganondorf?" Luigi pondered as he stepped into the library.

The library itself was huge, being composed of three floors, several tables, and even more shelves stacked with many different books. And this was not even the Hylian Archives, which themselves housed thousands of years of Hylian history. Luigi and Peach put their heads down after they saw several Toads and Hylians dressed in armor standing at the front desk. They skirted by and walked down a nearby hallway. There, they saw some stairs that lead to the basement. Quickly, Peach followed Luigi down the stairs, and into the doors. After Luigi and Peach entered the door, they found themselves in an incredibly small standing area between two hefty shelves, filled with many books. Luigi moved in front of Peach to create more room for the both of them. When he moved, he looked ahead of him and saw the rest of the Hylian Archives; there was a small area with two tables and six chairs, but everywhere else were shelves upon shelves of books. Most of the books must have been primary documents about the events of the old Hylian Kings, Luigi thought.

"There must be thousands of books down here," Peach said, rather awestruck by the books and the smell of the dusty pages.

"Well, in that case, we should get started," Luigi sighed, "I think all the newer documents are closer to the end of the shelves; it makes the most sense, when you consider how old the Kingdom of Hyrule is."

"What should we be looking for?" Peach asked, checking out some of the old books on the shelf to her right.

"Anything that mentions Dreamland, Dedede in particular," Luigi answered, picking up a stack of books.


	7. The Lady of Dreamland

Two Toads forced Dark Pit to his feet, but he fell over the moment he stood up. It had been days since his last cup of water and weeks since his last warm meal. Harshly, the Toads again pulled him up and forced him down a path. His head was down, as he had no strength to hold it up, but he saw that they were in the middle of nowhere. In the fortnight since the Battle for the Boarder, the fields around the heavily fortified Gerudo border had stayed dead; the dirt had only turned into mud because of seemingly never-ending rain. One of the toads, who had steel covering over his mushroom head, took out a dagger as the other one, who had a blue cape, kicked Dark Pit down on a knee and pulled his dirty hair to hold his head up. Dark Pit saw the heavily fortified border in front of him. A second later, he felt a dagger at his throat. Silence fell over both camps; just in time, it seemed, Zelda stepped out of her tent to witness this.

"Surrender the border, Bowser!" the Toad yelled, clinching Dark Pit's hair tighter, "Surrender the border, or Dark Pit will have his blood spilled all over the earth!"

Now, several Gerudos and Koopas watched the scene. The fields were entirely silent until the footsteps of Lord Bowser were heard exiting his tent. The Lord walked passed several of his soldiers and stopped on the top of an elevated surface, just above the gate that the Hylians and Toads failed to break through. Although the Toad was expecting to see Bowser weary and tired, he appeared with a cold, uninterested expression on his face. It seemed like this was a waste of the Lord's time.

"You think I won't do it?! I'll slice his throat, ear to ear!" the Toad exclaimed, "Surrender the border now—!"

"Go on, then; stop playing around and do it," Lord Bowser interrupted with little care in his voice, "He means nothing to me."

Lord Bowser left immediately after his response, causing the Toad to let go of Dark Pit. As Dark Pit relaxed slightly, the two Toads grabbed his arms and dragged him back to their camp as fast as they could. When they reached Zelda's tent, they stopped and bowed, "Your Majesty."

"Never do that again," Zelda warned as she gritted her teeth, "Lord Bowser knows that he's too valuable to us."

Surprised by the Princess' sternness, the two Toads drew back a little. However, they nodded a few seconds later, "Of course, Your Majesty. We're sorry…"

The Princess looked down at Dark Pit's face, which was dirty and covered in the mud. His clothes were somehow dirtier than his face; his black clothing seemed to be light brown from the dried mud and his wings slumped down.

"Take the prisoner back to it's pole," Zelda shook her head when she looked away from him.

As the Toads continued dragging Dark Pit back to his pole, Zelda walked across the wet path. Several Hylians and Toads sat around the camp, eating their rations for a late lunch. As Zelda noticed the sun's light go away, and rain hit her shoulder, she entered the tent of the High King. In the tent, High King Mario looked at a map of Hyrule; their rebellion, so far, had been a success. They nearly pushed the Gerudo and Koopas out of the largest province in the Realm. Yet, after their crucial defeat, moral was in freefall.

The High King, when he noticed Zelda in the tent with him, greeted her, "Princess Zelda."

"Your Majesty," Zelda responded, bowing her head for a second. She walked around High King Mario as he did not look up from the map, "You need to do something about our troops. We've had an incredibly successful campaign so far, but it feels like we just lost the war."

"These soldiers have never had to deal with defeat before," the High King sighed, "We'll recover eventually."

"Well, "eventually" needs to be soon—very soon," Zelda advised, turning to Mario, "If we don't raise our moral before the Gerudos and Koopas counterattack, it will be devastating; we might _actually_ lose the war. And, if we lose this war, both of us are as good as dead. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do; I knew that from the start," he responded, letting his nerves show, "We just need more time. I know Lord Bowser better than you. He's not going to attack today nor tomorrow nor the next day. That's not who he is. He'll wait before a counterattack."

"How are you so sure? If anything, Ganondorf's given the order already and he's just waiting to receive the raven."

Looking back down at the map, the High King shook his head, nearly laughing, "I've dealt with Lord Bowser for years. He seems so calculating and cold, but that's just a facade. The Lord will wait, and, by the time he decides to launch a counterattack, we'll be ready."

* * *

After landing the Warp Star outside of his house, Kirby hopped off it and onto the grassy ground of Green Greens. Despite his new lordship, he did not get to live in a fancy estate or castle like the other Lords of the Realm. He kept his old house, but he would receive an "army" of seven thousand when Dreamland was fully mobilized. The mobilization, however, was taking more time than previously thought; instead of having his army in a month, he would have it in two. In the meantime, Kirby decided to take advantage of his Lordship.

Kirby opened the door of his modest hut with his green cap still on and his sword still at his hip. When he put his small bag down, he walked to his couch and sat down, finally having the chance to relax after several weeks of counseling one King and fighting another. Kirby closed his eyes and felt his eyes become heavy. Just before he fell asleep, he heard sudden movement in his bag. He jumped up from the couch and slowly approached his bag. When he got there, he noticed a small ball-shaped object inside. And, before he could ready his sword, the ball uncurled and out of the bag jumped Samus Aran, no longer in her King's Guard armor.

Confused, Kirby asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, you weren't willing to help me, My Lord, so I snuck into your bag," Samus explained, dusting her shoulders off nonchalantly, "So, many thanks for getting me out of the worst job in the Realm. I'm off to join Fox and Falco's brotherhood now—"

"No, you're not," Kirby interrupted, thinking of something, "You owe me, even if I helped you unwittingly."

Seconds of pondering later, Samus nodded in agreement, "Okay, I guess you're right… In a way…"

With Samus' agreement, Kirby smiled and explained, "We're going to Castle Dedede; after I officially receive my Lordship of Green Greens from the Warden, you'll become the Lady of Dreamland."

"And marry Dedede?" Samus asked with reluctance. Her reluctance went away soon after, however, evident from the way she shrugged her shoulder, "Well, I guess he's not _the worst_ person to marry in the Realm… There are men more sinister."

"Not marry," Kirby corrected, "You'll be open for marriage, you know, in order to solidify our alliance with another province. But, you're not marrying Dedede; I wouldn't do something _like that_ to you."

Within the hour, Samus and Kirby arrived at Castle Dedede. They landed in the courtyard that overlooked the view from Mt. Dedede that the castle stood on. The Waddle Dee and Doo guards straightened up and stood as tall as they possibly could as Kirby and Samus walked down the path into the large castle. When they were inside, they walked on the red and gold carpet, which lead to the throne that Warden Dedede sat on. As usual, the hall was empty aside from several Waddle Dees with spears. However, Kirby soon noticed that Dedede was conversing with Sonic the Hedgehog, who still looked like he was on the battlefield for the Border.

"Ah! Lord Kirby," the Warden greeted when he saw Kirby and Samus in the throne room, "Please come up here; I want you to meet—"

"Lord Sonic of Green Hill Zone," Kirby finished, bowing informally, "I recall seeing you a few days ago at the Border."

"Enough _sweet_ language, My Lord," Sonic said tentatively, "You know why I'm here."

"Yes! Of course!" Warden Dedede nodded, slumping slightly in his throne, "Well, I was just telling Sonic about the history of bad blood between the past Dream's Kings of our homeland and the Hylian Empire. As you already know, Lord Kirby, Princess Zelda is the only reason why I _do not_ support High King Mario."

"That's a blatant lie," Kirby muttered under his breath. He quickly turned to Sonic and said, "Well, it was good to see you. I assume that you'll be leaving soon?"

"Yes. I need to return to the front," Sonic said, before his departure.

After Sonic left, Warden Dedede cleared his throat and turned back to Kirby, "What brings you by Castle Dedede?"

"I have a Lady for you," Kirby answered, "I think you already know of her."

"Why wouldn't I, my Lord? It's none other than Samus Aran, the famous bounty hunter."

"Well, now she's _Lady_ Samus of Dreamland."

By the tone of Kirby's voice, Warden Dedede caught onto what Kirby was referring to. The Warden quizzically nodded and somehow lazily sunk further into his throne, "Oh, of course…" Dedede turned to Samus and continued, "My Lady, I'll arrange some of my guards to escort you to your room straight away."

"Thank you," Samus grinned politely as Warden Dedede waved his hand at a few of the armed Waddle Dees in the room.

The Waddle Dees struggled up the steps but managed to make it up to the throne. They stood straight and still with their spears to their side. "Take the Lady of Dreamland to her chambers," Warden Dedede ordered casually. The Waddle Dees complied and, a few seconds later, they were gone with Samus.

"You do realize that, when her purpose has been served, she'll be gone?" Warden Dedede asked Kirby while he looked down at his glove, "Or, is this something I'll have to trust you with?"

"I am aware of that, Warden," Kirby said, looking outside at the green path that lead into the castle, "She'll be off to join the Steel Fox Brotherhood. You know, that group of militants led by Fox and Falco in Vegetable Valley?"

"Then, she came to the wrong place," the Warden sighed in response, "They've moved towards the southern coast because of our mobilization. I think that their influence is spreading across the Orange Ocean now…"

"Anyways," Kirby changed the subject as he turned back to face the lazy Warden, "We should discuss what happens next. What do you think, My Lord?"

* * *

King Marth walked towards the edge of the Village's border; along the single path that went into the Village (and the bare land around it), Marth established a perimeter. On the path, there was a wooden gate, always guarded, and two small wooden towers with archers. The King walked passed Shulk and Ness, who both bowed when they saw him. Marth continued his walk until he reached a house. A majority of the house's exterior had been burned in the ambush, but it was under reconstruction with some wood that did not match the original's color. He walked into the house and saw Roy talking with Lucario and Robin. When they saw their King inside the tent, they put their hands over their hearts in a fist and bowed their heads informally.

"Your Grace," Roy greeted with his head bowed.

The King did not respond, instead walking over to the table that the three surrounded. On the table was a map of the continent of Sarasa; the Village that they were staying in was right on the north-east coast and Sarasaland, with it's capital of Sarasaville, stood across the continent, in the South-Midwest. Along the map were several garrisons, marked by little moveable pieces either marked with the tip of a flower, showing a Sarasa garrison, or a Sword, showing garrisons loyal to Marth.

"Tell me what our scouts found," Marth asked as he looked down at the map.

"Ness and Greninja found a small battalion just west of here, more inland," Robin said, pointing to that specific location on the map, "The battalion is maybe made up of fifteen, waiting on re-enforcements. If we ambush them tonight, we can set up a trap for said re-enforcements. Kill every one of those soldiers, and the commanders of the Flower Princess will never know that they lost a critical pressure point on us."

"Good," King Marth nodded before looking up at Robin, "I want you to lead the ambush. You say that there's fifteen of them, so take a team of five, six at the most. I want this to be quick and clean. Stay as quiet as you can before you go loud."

"Yes, Your Grace," Robin nodded, "Who should I take, you think?"

"Anybody that you think can handle a little action," King Marth advised, "These soldiers are not as fierce as us, but they are still formidable. Anything else?"

"Yes," Roy said, taking over as Robin left the house. Roy moved to be next to the King and pointed at a location further to the north than they were; the point was the north-most point of Sarasa, "Corrin and Olimar went out to investigate the northern isles last night. Only Corrin returned this morning; he says that the Steel Fox Brotherhood is planning to expand their… Influence. And, at this rate, they'll be between us and the Flower Princess."

The King put his head down and sighed, frustrated, "So, just as the Sarasaland problem we have gets bigger, another one comes?"

"Well, the Steel Foxes aren't loyal to any Kingdom," Lucario suggested, "Maybe they could be bought off?"

"If you think that the Steel Fox Brotherhood could be bought off, then you have no spot on this council," King Marth quickly argued, showing his frustrations, "Fox and Falco aren't mercenaries or greed-drive. They fight for no banners, and they plan to keep it that way. I just hope Olimar doesn't talk…"

"I don't think that they'll give him a chance to talk, Your Grace," Roy said with fear in his voice, "They have a reputation to kill first, then ask questions later."

"Then, a rescue mission perhaps?" Lucario suggested again.

The King shook his head at Lucario's idea, "It'll just put us at odds with another group. We have our own problems with Sarasaland. The more we can avoid any interaction with the Steel Fox Brotherhood, the better. I don't want to put any unnecessary conflict on our army. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Your Grace," Lucario nodded reluctantly.

* * *

By the time Luigi and Peach cleared one shelf of books, it was past midnight on a Saturday night, and they had found very few links between the former royal families of Hyrule and Dreamland since both Zelda and Dedede rose to power. Besides a few off-comments Dedede made about Zelda's predecessor, Dreamland and Hyrule, on the surface and in Hyrule's perspective, were not allies but not adversaries in recent history. As Luigi closed a large book containing some manuscripts on a treaty between Hyrule and Dreamland that fell through some hundred years ago, Peach picked up a stack of many books, which rested on the table, and walked back to the shelf. When she put them on, Luigi put his head on the old wooden table.

"We've been searching for days, and we haven't found anything," Luigi exhaled tiredly. He picked up his head and asked, "You think Sonic found anything of interest?"

"Maybe," Peach replied. After she finished returning the books, she returned to the table and suggested, "Well, it's possible that most of the documents that we seek are classified—"

"No, it's not," Luigi sighed, "It's illegal to classify anything nowadays. Despite Hyrule's hatred for Ganondorf, they wouldn't break that law. It would be too risky."

"Or would they?" Peach said, "Maybe we're looking in the wrong place; the information we need might be in the castle."

"Doubt it…" Luigi sighed, "Keep looking; I know we're close to something."

Luigi, after stretching his back, stood up and walked to a shelf. He inspected some books, then noticed something odd about the shelf. As he pulled several books off a shelf that was eye-level, he saw that there was a secret compartment behind the books. He tried to open the compartment, but it was locked. With all his strength, he broke the withered lock and saw that there were files and a book inside. Luigi took them out and walked back to the table, where Peach was nearly asleep.

"I think I found something," Luigi said as he put the files and book onto the table.

"What is it?" Peach asked.

Luigi did not answer because he opened the file and read the heading of the first document, "Operation Nightmare."

"This might be something…" Luigi said quietly. He slid the file over to Peach. They both began to read the files and book of documents about this so-called _Operation Nightmare_.


	8. The Flower Princess

After entering the large walls that surrounded Sarasaland's capital, Sarasaville, Lucina and Ike hopped off their horses. They had been traveling for a few days in the Sarasa armor that they stole from the guards that they killed. And, since that night, they had not been bothered by anybody else. All the merchants and adventurers they passed by ducked their heads and respectfully stayed silent as Lucina and Ike passed by. Their cover worked successfully.

Inside the capital, there was not a lot except for a market, a few buildings and shops, then the large castle with orange tops. Although the city was surrounded by mostly deserts and sand, the Flower Princess' capital city was green; it stood out like an oasis in the hot desert.

Lucina and Ike walked through the market and looked around at the people of Sarasaville; many of them in white clothes and rags that covered most of their bodies but fit loosely and lightly to accommodate for the heat. As they approached the castle, Lucina noticed the number of guards increase. Just as they got to the orange steel gate of the castle, a large number of citizens, who were dressed in fine white clothing, exited a parliamentary building, perhaps the Senate, adjacent to the gate.

"I don't support this fight at all," they heard a nearby guard casually make conversation with another as they also exited the building, "Why do we have to fight an enemy that we have nothing against?"

"Because they pose a direct threat to the High King in the Mushroom Lands," the other replied, reciting what Princess Daisy had just said inside the Senate. The guard shrugged, clearly as annoyed and confused as the other, "Even though Marth's entire army isn't even inside the Realm of Smash. They're in Sarasa, yet they're somehow High King Mario's problem."

"We can't support a puppet of Zelda," the other said, "You know that she actually controls everything that goes on inside that army? She's just using Mario for her own personal gain. If you ask me, we should leave this place and join Marth. Maybe that way, we can reason with Princess Daisy before she gets over-committed to this fight."

"Yeah… _Reason with_ or _overthrow_ …. Whichever one comes first, I suppose," the other said before they entered the guard barracks nearby.

Lucina looked at Ike and said, "Well, it looks like the Flower Princess doesn't have the support of her people."

"To be fair, she doesn't know what she got herself into," Ike responded confidently, looking back up at the castle, "Let's be off, then."

"To where?" Lucina asked.

"We should have a talk with Princess Daisy," Ike suggested, "Maybe we can convince her to stop making conflict over nothing."

Seeing that they could not pass through the orange gates, Lucina and Ike walked towards the Guard Barracks and entered inside. When they were inside the barracks, they saw several soldiers sitting on the bunk-beds that lined the wooden walls. Several of the guards inside were under-dressed, taking a break from wearing their armor. Besides a few conversations, it was quite quiet inside the barracks.

After they passed through the barracks, they entered a scarcely-lit hallway with an orange carpet on the ground. The walls were white and covered with some paintings. They followed the carpet up a small staircase and into the main hall of the castle. It was like any hall where a throne sat, except the roof was entirely glass, so it was lit entirely by sunlight. Nobody was inside the hall, so Lucina and Ike walked directly across it with little care.

"Where do you think she is? Her chambers?" Ike asked.

"Maybe," Lucina nodded, "Let's go look around."

They continued their walk into another part of the castle. The hallways, for the most part, looked like carbon-copies of each other; the only differences between them would be the various plants set as decorations and the paintings on the wall. After walking up more stairs, they saw two guards standing on both sides of a door. Assuming that the door lead to the Princess' chamber, Lucina and Ike looked at one another.

"I'll take the one on the right, you got the one on the left," Lucina whispered, grabbing her sword.

"Stop that!" Ike whispered back as they got closer to the door, "We're not on the road anymore; we're in a castle. I have an idea."

When they got to the door, Ike straightened up and looked at one of the guards. He told, "Your shift's up; we'll take over from here."

The guard relaxed and sighed in relief, "Thank the Gods. I've been needing the bathroom for hours."

After the two guards left the hallway, Lucina and Ike entered the room quickly. Inside, they saw the Flower Princess, Daisy, in her signature orange dress and white gloves, sitting down at her dresser, which had a mirror on it's back. She seemed to be doing up her makeup because, in her hand, she had a container of foundation. When Daisy turned around, Lucina and Ike stood still, with both their hands on at their side. The Princess stood up and asked, "What is it? Did something happen? Go on, I don't have all day."

Lucina and Ike took off the helmets that they wore on their heads, revealing their faces to Princess Daisy. Daisy shook her head and sat down, relatively calm, "Disguising yourselves as my soldiers? Smart idea."

The Princess turned back around and faced the mirror, seemingly unfazed by their presence. When she started doing her makeup again, Lucina began, "Your Majesty, we came here today to—"

"Let me guess, kill me in the name of your King? Right?" Princess Daisy interrupted rather condescendingly, "Well, if you're going to do it, hurry up and get it over with. I have other things to do today."

"No, that's not why we're here," Ike responded. He cleared his throat and got down to it, "Why did you declare war on the Rightful King of the Realm of Smash?"

"Technically, there is no declaration of war," the Princess responded, "A declaration of war must be between two countries, or provinces. So, we're merely snuffing out a rebel force in the name of High King Mario."

"But, why support Mario? He has no claim to the throne; he only has an army, and the backing of two provinces," Lucina asked.

"You're right," the Princess nodded, "He has no claim to a throne that was created for the sole purpose of giving Ganon total control of the Realm. With a High King in power, all the provinces can become _Kingdoms_ again and rule themselves. What you fight for, I do not know."

"There's obviously more of a reason that you've chosen to be in this fight now, isn't there?" Lucina inquired.

The Flower Princess put her makeup down and said, "Even if there is, why should I tell you?"

"It's because of Rosalina, isn't it?" Ike interrogated, "You're jealous of her. She got invited to the Smash Mansion and you didn't, so this is just an act of built-up aggression and jealousy."

"Do you really think this is about jealousy?" Daisy snapped like Ike's claim offended her, "I'm a Princess, not a fighter. Sarasaland had an economic boom and prospered as you all were ruled by a flying hand, who made you all fight each other for virtually no reason. What did you get out of that: some mindless fun and a few good memories? While you all were playing your little fighting games, I was tending to things that actually matter to the world."

"Like what?" Lucina tested.

"Like making sure that the Mushroom Kingdom didn't collapse while Princess Peach was too busy galivanting alongside you," Princess Daisy replied nearly immediately, "The fact that you think that I'm fighting as a result of years of jealousy makes you blind to the folly of your cause; replacing Ganon with Marth just replace a dictator with another dictator."

"When our Kings takes his rightful place, he'll give the lands more freedom than Ganondorf ever has!" Lucina snapped, incredibly offended, "How dare you insult our King like that!"

"More than Ganondorf is still not enough," Princess Daisy replied. She stood up and looked at the two warriors, who looked quite tired and weary, "I suggest you go run back to your King. If you're still in my city within the hour, I'll send you back to him in a box."

* * *

"Until there is a direct threat onto Dreamland, the Warden says that they will remain neutral, my King," Sonic informed High King Mario and Princess Zelda as they stood in the medical tent. They stood beside Link, who still had not woken up since their failed offensive to take the Border. Although he was unconscious, he was miraculously still alive. All they had to do was wait until he woke up… If he ever did.

"Warden Dedede may have told you that Dreamland is neutral, but they aren't," Princess Zelda warned, looking down at the wounded warrior sadly, "I have a feeling that they have, and currently are, helping Lord Bowser and Ganondorf more than they're helping us. Hell, they had Kirby _observing_ on their line! They're even mobilizing—!"

"So, come the time to choose, they'll be ready," Sonic explained, frustrated with Zelda's stubbornness.

The Princess shook her head, "I refuse to believe that. We all know Dedede; he's just as bad as anybody who fights for Ganon. Think about what he's done to the people of Dreamland."

As Sonic sat down, he responded, "Dedede doesn't steal nor starve the peasants of his domain, Your Majesty. He's only stolen their dreams a few times. Even when he's had opposition, he does not silence them; Kirby's been a known critic and adversary of Dedede's for years."

"We still need to deal with Dreamland," Princess Zelda claimed blankly and stubbornly.

"But, why? They've done nothing to us!" Sonic snapped, "And, if you haven't noticed, we have other things to worry about right now! Dreamland does not have an army behind the gates of the Gerudo Valley, yet you want to talk about them more than the siege? We aren't even close to the Smash Territory yet, and you're already talking about post-war plans?"

Suddenly, they heard a horn sound from the outside. A few seconds into the horn's sound, they all heard the pounding of several feet outside of the tent, running towards defensive positions set up between their camp and the Gerudo border. A Hylian soldier ran into the tent and yelled, "My King! They're coming; Lord Bowser's launched a counterattack!"

"My Gods," Mario cursed, standing up from his seat, "Get to your defensive positions as fast as possible. Be ready to repel the attack."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the soldier nodded before running out of the tent.

Sonic stood up and said, "We'll discuss this later."

As Sonic slipped into his armor, which consisted of a light shoulder pad over his left side and a garment around his torso with a metal circle in the center. He grabbed a dagger and a sword and ran out, following the Hylian soldier. As the High King put on his armor and grabbed his sword, Zelda stopped him.

"My King, if we don't do anything about Dreamland, I fear that it'll lead to the end of our rebellion," Zelda warned him.

"When we're finished outside, we can talk about Dreamland," High King Mario assured, gripping the hilt of his sword.

* * *

As Kirby sat in his house, he heard somebody knock at the door. Kirby walked to the door and opened it. Behind the door, there was a Waddle Dee wearing a white cap and a satchel around his body. He handed Kirby a letter sent from Smashville, evident from the emblem on the sealing wax: the Gerudo symbol. One of the many quirks of both Meta Knight and Rosalina was their letters; often, to avoid a potential interception of their letters from King Ganon, they would occasionally send a courier instead of a raven. Kirby thanked the Waddle Dee and was about to close the door. However, the Waddle Dee stuck his foot in the door, cleared his throat and shook his hand. Kirby groaned and said, "Oh come on! I gave you a _generous_ tip yesterday when you gave me the letter from Meta Knight-!"

"Look buddy, I have a wife and kids to feed," the Waddle Dee responded, "We can't all be Heroes or Lords like you; some of us have normal lives to live."

Reluctantly, Kirby gave the Waddle Dee a small pouch of coins. The Waddle Dee looked at the coin purse, then back at Kirby. He said, "It's not as heavy as yesterday—"

"You're lucky I'm giving you a tip at all," Kirby said as he closed the door. As he walked to a small desk in his house, he muttered, "I thought I was supposed to be the Lord of Green Greens and Butter Building. I guess that I'm _buddy_ now…"

After the Lord sat down, he opened the letter and read it with a nearby candlelight. The letter was from the Queen-to-be, Rosalina:

 _My Lord,_

 _It was incredibly nice to have you in Smashville for a couple weeks. Though our time together was short, I thoroughly enjoyed having you stay in the castle with me and our King, Ganon. Like I said to you when we were in the throne room, I don't expect you to understand my tactics and reasoning for "dealing" with a man as hard as our King. However, I hope that you enjoy your new Lordship of Green Greens and Butter Building._

 _I do wish to see you in Smashville again. My fiancée loved having you on his Small Council in place of Lord Bowser. The council chamber nowadays is rather empty; there's only Captain Falcon, Wolf (on occasion), Meta Knight and King Ganon. I know that our King would appreciate to have you sit in on, and contribute to, a council meeting once more._

 _See you soon, Lord Kirby._

 _Rosalina_

Kirby put the letter down and sighed. He grabbed a sheet of paper and began to prepare a response, but he was stopped after he wrote Rosalina's name at the top of the page by a loud sound from outside. After he left his house, Kirby looked in the distance, beyond the fields and trees and saw the historical site known as Butter Building. The landmark had suffered from an explosion on the inside on one of the top levels; from a hole inside the old building, black smoke and fire poured out of it and into the blue sky that often hung over Dreamland. Concerned, Kirby ran inside, grabbed his cap and his sword, then to the Warp star and flew for Butter Building. As he got closer the massive building, there was another explosion; this one was much larger, having engulfed the entire bottom in flames. On the ground below, several residents of Dreamland ran from the Building and away from the probable perpetrators. Kirby landed hard onto the ground, at the base of Butter Building (now totally engulfed in flames). The Lord looked straight ahead and saw a Koopa and a Gerudo, wearing neutral colors. Kirby ran straight at them with his sword drawn. And, when they saw this, the two charged at Kirby.

Kirby blocked a downward swing from the Gerudo and rolled out of the war from the mace of the Koopa. Immediately, Kirby could tell that they were extremely inexperienced fighters; it would be light work for him. Again, Kirby dodged the Koopa and countered with a slash to the Koopa's torso. The Koopa went down as the Gerudo charged him. The Gerudo did not even have a chance to attack, for Kirby threw his sword and directly struck the Gerudo in the chest. Kirby took his sword back and looked back at the landmark, which now had began collapsing. Kirby ran from the base as the Building fell over onto the ground.

* * *

"My Lord, I saw it with my own eyes; a Koopa and a Gerudo destroyed Butter Building," Kirby announced as Warden Dedede sat on his throne in deep thought. Unlike their meetings before, when the main hall was completely empty, the hall housed several residents from Dreamland, as well as Sonic once more, acting as a correspondent for High King Mario. Upon Kirby's announcement, the main hall erupted in cries, and calls for justice. Sonic, who stood at the back of the hall and leaned on a pillar still muddy from the Battle, stayed silent.

Kirby looked up at Dedede's throne and saw that Samus, the Lady of Dreamland, now had a seat next to the Warden. For the first time in a long time, Samus was not in an underdress of her armor or her Zero Suit: because she was now a lady, she wore an orange and green dress that fit not too tightly, yet not loosely. She seemed to be concerned and unnerved; she came to Dreamland to escape Ganon, and now his soldiers were attacking her new home. All went silent when Warden Dedede rose from his throne, a feat he rarely did around regular civilians.

"My fellow Dreamlanders," Warden Dedede began in a solemn, low voice, "It seems to me that King Ganon is responsible for an unprovoked attack on one of our most famous landmarks, Butter Building. The complete destruction of the Building, as well as all the lives lost because of it, has forced my hand. Despite our loyalty before the current war, I have no choice; we must forgive and forget our history in the name of justice. We will join High King Mario and liberate the Realm from the treasonous tyrant, Ganon."

The Warden sat back down and watched the crowd. Beside him, Lady Samus looked incredibly distraught and eventually left the room. As the room erupted again in chatter and cheers, the Warden looked down at Kirby and nodded respectfully. Kirby soon ran up the steps and followed Samus. He found her in the hallway immediately behind Dedede's throne.

"My Lady, are you okay?" Kirby asked, concerned.

"I came to Dreamland to escape King Ganon's atrocities that I witnessed first-hand," Samus sighed, "Now, he's attacked Dreamland because of me…"

"It wasn't because of you," Kirby reassured, "Nobody knows why he did it. Besides, he doesn't know you're here; you may be a Lady of Dreamland, but nobody in Dreamland respects kinship. Hell, Dedede just respects it because he likes that I have to call him "My Lord". This isn't because of you; I promise that it's not your fault."

"Well, what now, Lord Kirby?" Samus asked.

"I'll talk with the Warden… We need to meetup with the High King to make this official."


	9. Steel Fox

King Marth stood in the middle of the village's main street. Just as the sun disappeared behind a few large white clouds, Roy walked over to him. When he got to his King, Roy bowed his head and greeted him, but Marth did not return the pleasantries. Instead, he kept staring at the road beyond them.

"Your Grace, is everything okay?" Roy asked.

"No," the King sighed, shaking his head, "Lucina and Ike have been gone too long. I think they got caught—"

Roy shook his head in doubt, "They're too good of warriors to be caught so easily."

King Marth moved from his spot to the small wooden deck outside of the slightly repaired long hall. When he was on the deck, he sat down on a bench and leaned forward, resting his hands on his cheeks anxiously. Roy followed Marth to the deck but did not sit down. "What if they got captured? What if the two most important advisors were captured, and maybe executed, by the Flower Princess?"

"I doubt that they got caught at all, My King; they're probably a day or two away."

King Marth put his head down briefly, then looked back up at Roy, who rested his hands on the pommel of his sword. When the King rose from his seat, Roy straightened up and waited for him to speak. And, after a few seconds of thought, Marth spoke, "We simply can't risk it now. We have to attack."

"Attack Sarasaland?!" Roy shouted, dumbfounded. Even a week ago, his King was reluctant to do anything besides a few guerrilla operations (like raids and hit-and-runs on supply lines), but now he spoke of a total invasion, "If you'd let me speak my mind, Your Majesty, I'd say that your idea is mad. You said it yourself: we're not ready for full-scale, traditional warfare!"

"What else are we supposed to do?" Marth asked, though he did not search for an answer, "Daisy has forced our hand, Roy."

"We have to at least wait a few more days; maybe Lucina and Ike are just running behind schedule," suggested Roy.

Annoyed, Marth sighed, "We'll wait two more days. If Lucina and Ike do not return before then, we're going to march."

* * *

After exiting the Hylian Archives, Luigi and Peach put their disguises on again. As they crossed the great library's stone floor, they heard loud noises from outside, possibly cheering. Confused, Luigi approached a nearby Castle Town guard, who leaned on the wall, and asked, "Is something going on today?"

"You haven't heard?" the guard responded in a low, monotone voice, "Green Greens was attacked by a team of Gerudos and Koopas; Dreamland's declared war on the ground and joined our fight."

Before Luigi could ask another question, Peach tugged onto his arm. He turned to face Peach, who pointed at something outside. When Luigi looked at what Peach was pointing at, Luigi saw that it was a large parade. Many of the residents of Castle Town surrounded a street, in which several members of the Hylian-Toad army marched on the street valiantly. As Luigi and Peach left the library, they saw four horses pulling a wooden stage. On the stage were High King Mario, with his sword in one hand and his scepter in the other, Princess Zelda, dressed in a new white and gold dress with her crown, and Warden Dedede, wearing his traditional red and gold outfit and holding his great big hammer. They waved, not noticing Luigi and Peach hiding in plain sight. In the many weeks in which Luigi and Peach researched the juicy history between Zelda and Dreamland (most of it illegally classified), things had changed drastically: first, the Siege of the Gerudo Border had ended after a failed counteroffensive; then, Green Greens and Butter Building were supposedly attacked by Ganon's forces; now, Warden Dedede, most likely influenced by Lord Kirby, decided to support High King Mario's claim to the throne.

"Let's go to the castle," Luigi said quietly to Peach as the others passed, "If we go now, we'll beat them there."

* * *

"Let us go!" Lucina snapped, struggling with the rope around her arms. She fell off the log that she was sitting on while tossing wildly. As she hit the sandy ground hard, unable to get up, she heard several others laughing at her.

Lucina felt the heat from the fire to her right hit her face. She knew that, from this position (on her side with a large rope tied around his entire torso and arms), she was vulnerable. Despite her vulnerability, however, nothing happened; all she heard was laughing and jeering from her captors. All Lucina could do was roll over onto her other side to see where the laughter came from. When she did roll over, she saw Ike, stripped of all his typical heavy armor, fighting for his life against Mega Man, Falco and Diddy Kong. She watched as Ike dodged a swing from Mega Man's flame sword. His act of quickness drew more jeers from those who watched by the fire. Suddenly, when Ike cut off Mega Man's arm, causing sparks and wires to fly everywhere, they heard a booming voice yell, "Alright! Enough! You've had your fun now; leave him alone."

The three complied as Mega Man grabbed his arm. Donkey Kong, who had been watching this fight from another location, went behind Ike and swiftly knocked him on the head once. The exhausted warrior fell onto his face, unconscious. After the large monkey tossed Ike next to Lucina, somebody seized Lucina and sat her back up on the log. She looked across from her and saw Fox and Pit sitting down on a log. Fox was the leader of the Steel Fox Brotherhood, so he had the nicest garbs out of all the members: silver and green light armor and a curved sword, probably made from an expensive metal. Pit, on the other hand, did not have as nice of armor, even though he was second in command to Fox, nor an excellent blade. It seemed that Pit did not wear any armor at all; he was still in his white clothing from before. The two of them had been eating a cooked leg of an animal she could not identify during the little fight. Falco sat down next to Pit and slumped immediately.

"Come on, Fox! The guys and I were just getting into it," Falco complained playfully.

"You were going to kill him!" Lucina snapped, spit flying from her mouth.

Falco turned to her and shook his head, "Clearly, you've forgotten about the Smashes we've had before."

"This was different, and you know it! You killed our horses and ambushed our camp, then you starve the both of us before you make Ike fight for his life against three well-trained, and well-fed, warriors!"

"And he has a Sarasa Steel blade, as do you and the rest of your council," Falco said, turning away from her carelessly, "If there was an advantage in the fight, I would argue that Ike had it."

"To be fair, it was not an even fight," Fox acknowledged in a sharp tone, "The next time that Falco decides to have a little Smash, I'll make sure that it's against somebody who may actually beat him. I don't want him going long without a real challenge."

Lucina could not tell if he was being genuine or sarcastic. However, she did not care, "So that's all you do then? Fight among each other while a war for the Realm of Smash wages on? You don't want to join a side and fight for something that actually matters?"

" _Actually matters_? You're kidding, right?" Pit responded, "The war in the Realm of Smash is over a throne with no legitimacy. Ganondorf literally just created it to get complete and absolute power. The Steel Fox Brotherhood has no banners, and we fight for no king; all we try to do is keep the spirit of Smash alive."

"Your brother doesn't seem to think the same as you," Lucina responded, still angry and hoping to incite a reaction, "At least he fights for a King. Meanwhile, you supervise self-glorified goring matches."

Pit drew back, shocked and offended by Lucina's statement. He stood up angrily and shouted, "Dark Pit and I are **NOT** brothers! How dare you say such a thing!"

"Besides," Fox interjected calmly, placing a hand on Pit's arm to calm him down, "Look where Dark Pit is now: a prisoner and hostage of Princess Zelda's. That's what happens to you when you decide to _fight the good fight_ like Lucina thinks we all should: you either win, or you die. There's no middle ground."

"Dark Pit isn't dead—!" Lucina shook her head.

"Physically, no. But, psychologically?" Fox interrupted, "The Dark Angel is long gone."

A few moments of silence followed. Lucina thought about the conversation that just ended, remembering Pit's claim that the Brotherhood _keeps the spirit of Smash alive_. Figuring that she had nothing better to do, and that she needed to find a way to relieve her boredom, Lucina looked over to the other three and asked, "What did you mean earlier when you said that you try to keep the spirit of Smash alive?"

"Everything that founded what the Brotherhood does, and the Smash Brothers before us, came from Master Hand," Fox explained, "I should know; I was one of the first Smash Brothers. And, when Ganondorf marched on the mansion and destroyed the legacy of the Smash Brothers to create a monarchy, I decided that I wanted to preserve the values and ideas that made it so much fun for so long. It wasn't until Mario started a rebellion that we had to make it clear that we don't fight for anyone except ourselves."

"So, if you have no political goals, why keep me and Ike around? Why not let us go?" Lucina asked.

"Oh, we'll let you go," Fox explained, "But first, you have to win your freedom."

* * *

After the parade, Princess Zelda walked down a long hallway of her castle. The hallway had grey brick walls, and the floors were covered by a red carpet. Along the grey walls were windows and some pictures and paintings of various monarchs before her, old frames of the castle from decades before her rule, and the "Heroes of Hylian History". The Princess entered her room at the end of the hallway and closed the door. She sighed in relief; it was her first time back at the castle since the Rebellion, now coined as _Mario's Rebellion_. Although her downtime between events was short, she looked forward to relaxing for a few hours until her next responsibility. However, when she turned around to face her large bed, she saw Luigi and Peach in her room; the Hand of the King leaned on her bedpost and Peach sat on the chair that belonged to Zelda's bedroom desk with some papers in her hand.

Luigi, though he was looking at the ground, began reciting:

 _And who are you, The Dream's King said,  
That I must bow so low?  
The Star belongs to the Land of Dreams  
And not that symbol's glow  
A Puff of Pink is our Savior;  
The Dream's King will not die  
Behind all those who fought the Dream  
Is where the Triforce lies_

"How do you know that poem?" Zelda asked with surprise and a little bit of fear in her voice.

"You weren't going to tell us about _Operation Nightmare_?" Luigi responded, still not looking at Zelda. When Zelda put her head down, remaining silent, Luigi looked up and at the Princess with a sense of betrayal in his eyes, "You brought me and my brother into a war you couldn't win alone because you want to control Dreamland?"

"I should've know that you'd come here instead of going to the Mushroom Kingdom," Zelda shook her head, not answering Luigi's question. She shot a look at Peach and said, "I expected this from Luigi, but not from you, Peach—"

Peach quickly interrupted, with sadness in her voice, "Answer his question."

Sighing, Princess Zelda looked back at Luigi and asked, "What did you see?"

"We saw that you authorized and sponsored a coup against Dedede on two separate occasions. The first one almost worked, too," Luigi noted matter-of-factly, "It was a smart idea, you know, using an established resistance group to fight your proxy-war, but Kirby foiled your plan. So, you tried again, this time you actually traveled to Dreamland to ensure that it would work out a second time. But, Kirby stopped you again."

"Now, you've tricked Dedede into signing a treaty," Peach followed up, "I saw the conditions of the Accords just now: in return for their sworn, undying loyalty to High King Mario, Dreamland will get _the benefit_ of Hylian influence. And, after High King Mario wins the war, Dreamland will become their own sovereign kingdom again, but the monarch will have no power; it will be ruled by a democratically-elected governor, _who must be approved by the Hylian Government first_ ," Peach put the papers in her hand down onto Zelda's desk and continued, "It seems that Dreamland will become a colony of Hyrule in return for their support of High King Mario."

Zelda looked at Peach, who became progressively angrier. Thinking on her feet, Zelda said, "Warden Dedede has already agreed to the Castle Town Accords in private. After we took the Border, Sonic ran to deliver them to Dedede. And, at that point in time, Dedede already publicly announced that he would support us. All that needs to be down at the actual conference tomorrow is the signing of the papers."

The three of them remained silent awkwardly until Luigi asked a question that had been burning ever since the beginning of their rebellion, "Why?"

"Why what?" Zelda asked back, annoyed.

"Why do you want Dreamland so badly?"

The princess scoffed and shook her head again, "You just don't get it, Luigi. Nor you, Peach. You two just don't get it."

"Then make us; there has to be a reason that you've pursued this goal so recklessly for so long," Peach responded, still unmoved.

Reluctantly, Zelda sat down in a chair across from Luigi. She began, "The Kingdom of Dreamland is property of Hyrule; it's because of us that they even have a Kingdom and a society. Before, centuries ago, they were a colony of ours. We civilized them, and their ungrateful asses just kept demanding more and more freedom until they declared that they were their own sovereign kingdom and started a war. They embarrassed the Kingdom of Hyrule and gave us a bad name. Even today, Hyrule still bares the humiliation of that loss. But, you wouldn't understand; you're not Hylian."

"I'm sorry that you have to carry this imperialistic burden," Luigi said sarcastically, "but, that was centuries ago! Dreamland has been getting along fine without Hyrule for hundreds of years, Your Majesty."

"You clearly know nothing about this matter," Zelda said, angrily, "Have you been to Dreamland, my Lord-Hand? Have you ever noticed the lackadaisical lifestyle of the Dreamlanders? It all starts with their lazy Kings, who don't know anything about being a monarch. I've done all of those things, as horrible and selfish as they may seem to you, for the people of Dreamland."

"Keep telling yourself that," Luigi shook his head. He left the room angrily, closely followed by Peach. After the two of them left, Zelda stomped her way to the door and slammed it shut.


	10. The Castle Town Accords

Kirby left his guest room within the Hylian Castle. Outside of his room on the red-colored carpet, he saw Samus wearing a red dress with golden designs on it. To Kirby, it seemed that the dress was exactly like Warden Dedede's garbs. The Lady of Dreamland did not notice Kirby; instead, she stared directly into the room in front of her. In that room was where the official conference of the Castle Town Accords was to take place. She looked down nervously as Kirby stood next to her.

"My Lady," Kirby greeted, looking into the room along with her. Samus, taken by surprise, suddenly shifted and looked down at the pink puffball. She moved the hair that had fallen in her face to her left and smiled at the little Lord. Kirby continued, "You seem anxious."

"Well, can you blame me?" Samus responded, "I find out who I get to marry soon… I honestly hope that it isn't somebody who's mad. You know, I wouldn't mind somebody like Link…"

"Well, he's…" Kirby stopped himself, before clearing his throat, "Never mind."

Curiously, Samus asked, "Who will I be marrying from the High King's side?"

"We'll both find out tomorrow," Kirby replied, "It's definitely _not_ Mario, I can tell you that. When he takes over Ganon's place in Smashville, he'll marry Peach."

"Figures," Samus nodded, "Speaking of Smashville, have you heard from Rosalina lately? She's probably the _only_ person I miss from that horrible place."

"I've written a few letters," Kirby answered, "Nothing too personal, though."

"Well, I hope that High King Mario doesn't have her executed for treason," Samus said with a sigh, "She's probably the nicest person I've ever met."

"It's funny that she's going to get married to one of the vilest players in the game," Kirby added. He looked away from the room and saw one of the servants of the castle approaching him quickly.

When the servant reached Kirby, he said, "My Lord, Warden Dedede requests that you follow me. He wishes for your input on a rather important matter."

"As the Warden wishes," Kirby obeyed. He turned back to Samus and said, "I'll see you later today, My Lady."

Samus nodded in goodbye. As Kirby walked down the hallway, he heard a dispute in a nearby meeting room. When the servant opened a nearby glass door, Kirby saw High King Mario, Warden Dedede, Peach, Sonic and Luigi in the room all standing around a wooden table with some chairs tucked into it. The walls were bare, so the room was rather boring and lifeless if not for the animated argument inside. However, when Kirby entered the room, all the shouting stopped.

"Nice to see that our alliance is off to a good start," Kirby commented rather annoyed, "So, what's going on that's important enough to be causing all this arguing?"

"Lord Kirby, please help us," Peach asked, "We have planned for Luigi, the Hand of High King Mario, to be married to Samus, the Lady of Dreamland. However, Luigi is being difficult—"

"Oh, I'm sorry that I don't want to get married!" Luigi snapped, frustrated that he was not consulted about this beforehand.

The High King let out a heavy sigh and said, "If you had not left the front, you would have been told in person, My Lord-Hand."

"You're missing the point! I DO NOT WANT TO GET MARRIED!" Luigi yelled.

Warden Dedede interjected rather loud, louder than he intended his interjection to be, "Listen Luigi, My Lord-Hand—whatever they call you, Samus is a beautiful and unique person. And she's really sweet and sympathetic, not to mention that she's athletically fit! I don't understand—hell, _we_ don't understand what's holding you back!"

The Hand responded, thinking that the reason behind his reluctance was all too obvious, "I'm in a relationship right now—!"

"Yeah, with The Flower Princess an entire ocean away!" Peach shouted, annoyed with Luigi, "You haven't seen Daisy in years!"

"But we still talk!" Luigi defended himself, "...Occasionally…"

"My Lord," the High King said, turning to Kirby desperately, "please help us."

Kirby turned to Luigi, who stubbornly looked down with his arms crossed. He said, "My Lord-Hand, we all have had to sacrifice something for the greater good of our cause. You must consider things beyond yourself; if you don't get married to Samus, who will? Without a marriage to further legitimize Dreamland's role in the war, our troops won't fight as hard for you or for us. If you don't get married to Samus, you win but everybody else loses, except for King Ganon."

Now, the King's Hand shook his head reluctantly, "I can't be unfaithful to Daisy…"

"Between you and me, Samus is out of here to join the Steel Fox Brotherhood as soon as she can anyway," Kirby whispered to Luigi, "So, it might only be for a couple months."

"Okay, fine," Luigi finally gave in.

* * *

Th next day, the first person to enter the room was Princess Zelda, followed High King Mario, Peach and Luigi. Inside the room were too long, thin tables that curved and faced one another, with one chair in the middle for a moderator. Zelda walked to the very end and stood behind the chair furthest from the door. As she waited, she saw that High King Mario had worn a brown fur scarf and his crown. She also noticed that, next to the High King, Peach and Luigi also wore scarves and (Peach specifically) a dark dress to make themselves appear like their High King: regal, intimidating and honorable. Next, Warden Dedede entered the room, followed by Kirby, Samus, and a Waddle Dee. Lastly, Sonic entered the room, still wearing his light armor from the front with a sword at in his belt. After Sonic took the seat of the moderator, everybody else sat down in their chairs.

"If both sides are ready to begin, we'll open with the reading of the Accords," Sonic began, crossing his legs and leaning back in his chair, "Dreamland will join the Hylian-Toad Rebellion and proclaim Mario, First of His Name, Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, Liberator of Hyrule and Dreamland, as Protector of the Realm and the True High King of the Realm of Smash…"

"He didn't have to list all of his titles," Samus whispered to Kirby.

"No, he did," Kirby explained, "With any event like this, because it is _official_ , we all must be addressed like that."

"This is going to be a long conference," Samus sighed.

"...And, in return for Dreamland's loyalty, Hyrule and the Mushroom Kingdom will restore the Kingdom of Dreamland and give Dedede, First Warden of Dreamland, back his Kingship; he will become Dedede, Tenth of his Name, Protector of the Land of Dreams and The Dream's King once more. In addition, a governor approved by the Hylian government will be chosen to act as a safety net for the monarchy of Dreamland," Sonic finished reading from the paper in front of him, "Both parties are in agreement of these Accords, yes?"

The room remained silent as both sides nodded. Sonic said, "Good. Secondly, we should go over the marriage of Lady Samus Aran of Dreamland and Luigi, Hand of the High King, Mario. Both parties are in agreement of this marriage, yes?"

Luigi asked, "When is the wedding supposed to take place?"

"We will decide that right now," Sonic answered. He turned his attention back to the room, "So, when will the wedding take place?"

"As soon as possible," the High King suggested.

"That being said, "as soon as possible" will probably be several weeks," Zelda said, "We still have a war to fight in the Gerudo Valley."

"I agree," the Warden nodded, "I think that six weeks from today is a fine date."

"Alright," Sonic said, surprised that an agreement was reached so quickly, "So, the Wedding of Samus and Luigi will take place six weeks from today. Now, we must decide _where_."

"In Castle Town, of course," Zelda scoffed incredibly quickly. To her, the location of the wedding was all too obvious.

"Hold on, now," Kirby interjected, "We're holding these Accords in Castle Town. We had to trust you, a long-time adversary to Dreamland, not to try anything upon our arrival. Now, you should return the favour."

"So, you want the wedding in Dreamland?" Peach asked, leaning forward onto the table.

"Yes. Warden Dedede has a castle that's the perfect venue for a wedding," Kirby explained, "It's right on the top of Mt. Dedede. His castle has a beautiful view of Dreamland."

"I think that it's a wonderful idea," Warden Dedede agreed with his Lord.

"Well, how do we know that we can trust you?" Zelda asked.

Kirby spoke up, loudly and annoyed, "Because we trusted you on this visit. Isn't a bit hypocritical that you can't trust us? We are _allies_ now."

"I'm with Princess Zelda on this one," High King Mario said, "We should have the wedding here in Castle Town, _not_ in Dreamland."

"Well, we should make a compromise then," Peach suggested, trying to decrease the sudden tension in the room, "We should have the Wedding in the Mushroom Kingdom. That way, neither side needs to worry about being betrayed. Right?"

Warden Dedede shook his head, "The only way that we agree to this marriage is if we have the wedding in Dreamland. If they don't want to have the wedding in Dreamland, then there will be no wedding."

"Do you hear yourselves right now?!" Sonic snapped, "You're _allies_ now! Princess Zelda, you have to be more trusting and less hypocritical! And you, Warden Dedede, you have to be willing to compromise! Now, let us come to a decision, please: where will the Wedding be held?"

Silence fell over the room as both sides looked at each other, trying to come to a decision amongst themselves. About a minute later, Kirby spoke up, "We are willing to have the Wedding in the Mushroom Kingdom. However, because it is in the Mushroom Kingdom, we get to choose the venue."

Sonic nodded then turned to the Hylian-Mushroom side. He looked at High King Mario, who was in deep thought, "My King, do you agree to these terms?"

The High King looked to Zelda, who did not look as happy at the events that just transpired. Despite the reluctance in her face, she nodded her head. Now that he had the go-ahead, Mario turned back to Sonic and said, "Yes, my Lord."

"Now, Lord Kirby," Sonic said, going back to the Dreamland side of the room, "where will the wedding take place?"

Thinking on his feet, Kirby announced, "The Wedding will take place in Mushroom City. Then, we'll have a reception in the Princess' Castle."

"Very well," Sonic said. He cleared his throat and announced, "The joining of the Kingdoms of Dreamland and Hyrule through the Wedding of Lady Samus Aran and Luigi, the Hand of High King Mario, will take place three weeks from today in Mushroom City with a reception in Princess Peach's Castle afterwards. Now, are both parties in agreement of these terms?"

Both sides nodded. Cracking a smile, Sonic concluded, "It's settled, then. To conclude, I will read the Accords again: Dreamland will swear their undying allegiance to Mario, First of His Name, Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, Liberator of Hyrule and Dreamland, Protector of the Realm and the True High King of the Realm of Smash. In return for their undying loyalty, the Kingdom of Dreamland will be restored under Dedede, Tenth of his Name, Protector of the Land of Dreams and The Dream's King. In addition, a governor approved by the Hylian government will be sent to Dreamland as a safety net for the monarchy. In order to further solidify this new alliance, the Wedding of Lady Samus Aran of Dreamland and Luigi, Hand of High King Mario, will take place in Mushroom City. Both sides are in agreement to these Accords, so now High King Mario and Warden Dedede will sign the papers."

As both High King Mario and Dedede rose from their chairs and approached Sonic, Luigi looked up at Samus, who smiled back at him. Luigi sighed sadly as Peach leaned into his ear. She whispered, "I think she likes you already."

"But, what about Daisy…?" Luigi whispered back.

Sympathetically, Peach put her hand on Luigi's shoulder, "We all have to sacrifice something for the betterment of the Realm."

After they signed the papers, High King Mario straightened his back and extended his hand. Warden Dedede nodded and shook the High King's hand with his gloved one, "Your Majesty, Dreamland's Army will fight and die in your name. Together, we'll take back the Realm."

"We will, _King Dedede_ ," High King Mario acknowledged.


	11. As He Likes

Two days passed in the Land of Sarasa, yet Lucina and Ike failed to return to the village. Anticipating this outcome, King Marth had arranged for his soldiers to be ready to march. By dawn, most of Marth's marching army had been outfitted in armor, both heavy and light, been given weapons and some horses. The King, anxious to begin marching, quickly walked pass a group of his soldiers waiting by two horses. In the group were Greninja, Ness, Shulk, Robin, Lucario and Corrin. Like most of the smaller, more agile soldiers, Ness wore extremely light armor and wielded a small sword. Unlike Ness, the other three wore metal chainmail. Noticing King Marth passing them, they bowed out of respect.

The King nodded at them and kept walking in the direction of Roy, who petted an armored black horse on the snout calmly. As Marth got closer to him, Roy stopped petting the horse and turned to face his King. "Your Majesty," Roy said with a bow of his head.

"Had we left two days ago, we would already be in a battle," Marth said, looking at the horse as Roy rose his head, "Robin said that the scouts found a Sarasa battalion just south of here. They were getting ready to invade."

"Well, let's go engage them now," Roy suggested as he mounted his horse. He took a breath of the fresh, slightly chilly morning air and cracked his knuckles, "I've been eager for a good fight since they attacked us."

"So why did you want to wait?" the King asked as he approached the armored horse next to Roy's.

Roy chuckled as his King climbed onto the horse, "I'd rather go into a war _with_ Lucina and Ike than go into one _without_ them, so sorry for having hope that they aren't dead."

Finding his comments amusing, Marth returned the chuckle, "I don't _think_ they're dead; I simply recognize the very real possibility that they got captured and executed."

In response, Roy smiled and laughed silently. He shook his head and looked down for a few seconds, snickering quietly now. After he was done, Roy shrugged his shoulders and straightened back up. King Marth kept smiling slightly as he moved to be in front of his army, who were not organized in a marching formation. As they chatted among each other, pondering as to why they had not started moving yet, Robin approached the King and said, "We're waiting for you, Your Majesty."

* * *

After leaving Castle Town, Kirby hopped on his Warp Star and flew towards the border of the Gerudo Valley and the Smash Territory. A few minutes of flying later through the dark night sky, Kirby landed at the base of Icicle Mountain, an area which was not fortified by the Gerudo-Koopa forces. When he landed on the cliff of a ravine somewhere on the large mountain, Meta Knight appeared from the darkness of a few trees.

"Do you mind telling me what has been happening in Dreamland?" Meta Knight asked as he wrapped his dark cap around his small, spherical body.

Kirby sighed and looked into the ravine, which must have been close to a hundred feet deep and thrice that in length, "You know that everything I do and orchestrate is in the name of the _Rightful_ King of the Realm. You just have to trust me, Meta Knight."

"I don't know if I can," Meta Knight responded, stepping closer to the Little Lord, "You know, King Ganon never authorized the bombing of Butter Building… If he did, he never consulted the Small—"

"Like I said, I have everything under control," Kirby explained, interrupting him, "And, I suggest that you get out of The Capital soon… Like, _very soon_ …"

"Get out of the…? Are you mad? I have to be in The Capital," Meta Knight responded, "I'm King Marth's most trusted spy; if I'm not in Smashville—"

"Then you'll be safe," Kirby said, as if implying something that was beyond Meta Knight's understanding, "Listen to me: now that King Dedede has declared High King Mario as the true Protector of the Realm, Dreamland is an enemy of Ganon's Crown. The longer that you're in The Capital, the more at-risk you are."

Meta Knight let out a heavy sigh of confusion and disappointment, "You've gone and made Dedede a _King_ again, huh?"

"That's not important. What's important is your well-being; stay away from The Capital as much as you can."

Kirby turned back to his Warp Star and began mounting it. However, Meta Knight approached him with confusion and called, "Kirby—!"

Kirby interrupted Meta Knight by presenting a folded piece of paper to him. When Meta Knight took it, Kirby put his green cap on firmly and said, "Like I said, _everything_ I do is in the name of the _Rightful_ King of the Realm."

Meta Knight quickly unfolded the paper and saw what was on it. On the old, slightly yellow-colored paper was a drawing of a sword with a hilt that curved away from the grip. Upon first glance, it looked like a drawing of a regular sword with no importance. "What the hell is this supposed to be? It's just a drawing of a sword! And a horrendously one at that…" Meta Knight commented.

Kirby sighed in disappointment and did not look at Meta Knight. To further show his disappointment, the Little Lord sighed again, "This whole thing was supposed to be a neat moment where I give something to you that explains why I'm doing the things I'm doing; you see, the sword was supposed to tell you that I—oh, forget it."

Kirby, frustrated, flew away from Meta Knight and up into the night sky. As Meta Knight watched the tail of Kirby's path trace the sky and stars that hung over him, he realized that the drawing was the emblem that Marth always used on the red sealing wax of his letters. Now, Meta Knight felt like a thick fool for not understanding what Kirby meant.

"Kirby!" he called out, hoping that Kirby heard him, "I'm sorry!"

* * *

High King Mario and Zelda stood on top of the Gerudo-Hylian Border that they had before the Accords. Now that their fight was in the desert-esc landscape of the Valley, the Gerudo-Koopa forces had an advantage; they knew the land and weather far better than anybody on the High King's side. As they High King stared at the lands ahead of them, Princess Zelda walked towards their camp. After taking the border, they were sent re-enforcements; their force of forty-five thousand strong after taking the border grew back to a steady fifty-five thousand. And, when King Dedede was to arrive with the Dreamlanders, their forces would soar to sixty-five or seventy thousand. The High King's Small Council voted to begin the Gerudo Valley Offensive a fortnight after Dreamland arrived.

Princess Zelda walked slowly passed some of her soldiers, who sparred each other. They stopped upon her presence and bowed, like most men do in the face of royalty. As she kept walking, she heard somebody run up behind her. Quickly, she turned around and saw a Toadette wearing all white with a red cross on her chest.

"Your Majesty, the Silent Knight has woken up," she gasped for air.

The Princess, who suddenly had a massive smile on her face, said, "Tell the High King and his council!"

Eager, Zelda ran to the medical tent. When Zelda entered the tent obnoxiously and excitedly, Link turned around to investigate the fuss. His hair was longer, but not very much longer, and there was a great scar across his face from the blow that nearly took his life. It stretched from his eyebrow, through his nose, and onto his opposite cheek. The cut was very deep, so the scar still looked very red as a result. As soon as Link turned around, he was met by a hug from Zelda. During their hug, High King Mario and the rest of his council entered the tent.

"Oh my… He's actually alive," Luigi muttered, awestruck.

Bewildered, the High King approached Link and asked, "What happened to you? Who bested you on the field of battle?"

The Silent Knight said nothing, only looking down in shame. "Come on, Link. You have to tell us," Luigi encouraged.

Before anybody else could say anything, the Toadette from before rushed into the tent. In her hand was a cup of clear liquid and a few pills. She gave them to Link as Luigi continued, "Link, I know that you have this _silent_ thing about you, but you have to tell us what happened to you."

"Even if he wanted to talk now, he can't," the Toadette explained as Link took the pills and medicine, "There's a laceration inside his throat that destroyed his voice box. Beyond a few grunts, he can't say much of anything anymore."

"How did that happen?" High King Mario asked, horrified.

"He must've fell down hard onto something after he was defeated," Toadette explained with a sigh, "That's the only thing that I can think of."

"No matter what happened, at least we have you back," Zelda said, now clinging onto Link's arm.

Luigi turned to the Toadette and asked, "When will he be ready to fight again?"

The Toadette answered, somewhat unsure, "Certainly not anytime soon, however."

"Regardless, this still calls for a celebration," Zelda said joyously, "For the first time since our failed assault, Link is awake and alive! We have so much to tell you, my Silent Knight."

Link nodded and smiled while looking at the Princess. Quickly and lightly, Sonic commented, "First, we should get him some new clothes; I think the last time those ones were clean, we were still in Kakariko Village."

As Luigi exited the tent and looked over at Hyrule Field, he saw thousands upon thousands of Waddle Dees and Doos marching towards the border. At the front of the army were three Waddle Dees struggling to hold up a red circular banner with a yellow star in the center. Also at the front was King Dedede on an armored stallion who, like the Waddle Dees behind him, was struggling. Luigi called for the High King and, when the High King came out of the tent, he looked on at Dreamlanders.

"That's easily twenty thousand, maybe more," Luigi said, shocked by the sheer numbers of Dreamland's army, "I thought that he only could spare a force of ten, fifteen at a push."

"Well, now our army doubles Lord Bowser's," the High King commented before leaving.

The spot next to Luigi was quickly replaced by Princess Peach, who must have followed closely behind High King Mario. When she stood next to him, she said, "With what we know now, I have a bad feeling about this."

"I don't either," Luigi agreed, still looking on, "But, we have twenty thousand more soldiers because two enemies have a common interest."

"It's not the Mushroom Kingdom that Dedede hates, though; it's Hyrule," Peach said, watching the Dreamland forces enter the gates of the border, "Whenever Dedede and Zelda disagree about _anything_ , it turns into a fiery argument…"

"It doesn't help that our King always takes Zelda's side, even if she is in the wrong; no wonder all of our enemies see him as a puppet of her creation…"

* * *

In Smashville, Meta Knight walked into the Small Council chamber. Inside the room, Captain Falcon, Wolf and Mewtwo. Although a Koopa retrieved Meta Knight for a Council Meeting, the King was not in the room. Meta Knight hid his confusion as he sat down in his chair across from Captain Falcon, who looked just as confused.

"Where's the King?" Meta Knight asked the room.

After a few seconds of silence, everybody shrugged and muttered, "I don't know…"

"In that case, what's the point of this meeting?" he asked the room again.

Once more, silence followed his question. Before Meta Knight could ask another question, the King quickly entered the room with his fists clinched. Something was unusual with him on this day; he walked angrily, brooding much more than usual. In addition, he wore the Crown of Smash on his head. During regular council meetings, King Ganon often dressed down and skipped the crown. Today, however, he had the crown on and nice, clean black robes as well. Behind the King were a squad of five Koopas and Gerudo guards. They walked into the council's chamber and stood perfectly still by the door.

When King Ganon reached the head of the table, he did not sit in his chair. Instead, he placed a piece of parchment on the table. Meta Knight quickly noticed that the parchment that his King placed on the table was the one Kirby gave him earlier. Luckily for Meta Knight, his face was hidden from the room behind a mask.

King Ganon began, hiding the anger in his voice poorly, "This drawing was found in the castle today. Do you all recognize what this symbol is?"

"It's a sword, Your Grace—" Captain Falcon answered plainly, looking down at the parchment.

The King gave Captain Falcon a look of disgust. Then, when the King spoke, his anger was not hidden at all, "A sword! It's just a sword, right?! It's not the same symbol that _Marth_ used during the days of the Smash Brothers, right?! Do you remember what happened to him? Do you know where he is now?"

"He's in Sarasa now, across the Orange Ocean…" Meta Knight answered emotionless, still not making eye-contact with the King, "Rumour is that he's planning to invade the Realm…"

"Yes, My Lord, everybody in this room knows that," the King Ganon, smiling ironically. His smile soon shifted as he looked down the table, at each individual member shortly, "Some people in this room know more than others."

Mewtwo looked up at the King, "What are you saying, Your Grace?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you? There's a traitor in this room," the King snarled, "And I know who it is."

The King's gaze went towards Captain Falcon. When everybody else followed his eyes, Captain Falcon shouted, "Me!? Are you serious!?"

"Well, you're the only one in here who used to be considered one of the good guys," Wolf muttered in agreement with his King.

"What about Meta Knight?!" Captain Falcon yelled as his pointed towards the masked puffball, "Have you ever considered him? All he does is stay up in his tower, brooding about Gods know what!"

"Meta Knight would never do anything to betray the crown," King Ganon brushed off rather quickly, "Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, Captain."

"I see it clearly now," Captain Falcon shook his head, "I see why they refer to your reign as the Tyranny of King Ganon; you only see the world the way you want to. You don't care for truth nor justice. You decide what's right and wrong, and you shape the world to cater to your own agenda. God forbid somebody get in your way or try to talk sense into you. You'll just butcher them like me."

The room became tense as King Ganon clenched his fist harder than he had before. He gritted his teeth, approached Captain Falcon slowly and asked, "Are you done, Captain Falcon?"

"I demand a trial by combat!" Captain Falcon shouted as the Council watched the events unfold.

"Alright," the King nodded in agreement, reaching to his belt and gripped a dagger, "You'll get your trial by combat… _Right now_."

Quickly, Meta Knight saw the King take the dagger from his belt and jab it into Captain Falcon's stomach. And again. And again. And again…

When it was finally over, Captain Falcon hit the ground hard as the guards by the door walked over. As they removed him from the Small Council Chamber, King Ganon grabbed a cloth off a nearby shelf and wiped his black dagger. Everybody in the chamber was shocked and remained silent. Slowing his breathing down in attempt to relax, the King sat at the head of the table and stabbed his dagger, now clean, into the parchment that lay on the table. The force and sound of the knife into the table echoed throughout the deafening silence in the room.

"The dead man brought up a good point," King Ganon said as he looked at Meta Knight, "Because of your history, and because I have no idea how far Marth's influence has infiltrated my people, I'll be keeping my eye on you. You're lucky that I already spilled somebody's blood today, Meta Knight. If I hadn't killed him, I would've killed you."

"You have no proof on either of us," Meta Knight responded, looking down at the dagger, "For all we know, you just killed Captain Falcon in cold blood.

"I'm the King of the Realm of Smash, idiot. I can do whatever I want, to whom I want, when I want."


	12. You Win or You Die

For the first time since she was captured, Lucina was taken out of her restraints and given a warm meal. She knelt down and ate it as the sun began to set. Orange rays lit the clear sky as Ike approached her with his great sword and regular armor in hand. "Enjoying your meal?" Ike asked.

"It's the first time I've had something warm to eat in days," Lucina muttered, stuffing food into her face. When she noticed that Ike was wearing his regular armor, she asked, "Who are you fighting?"

"Donkey Kong," Ike answered with a heavy sigh, "The monkey's a bigger brute than I am. I'll have to take a page out of your book and use my _quickness_ to beat him."

"Then who after him?"

"If I beat Donkey Kong, I have to take on Fox," Ike answered, "After that, I've won my freedom. Who are they making you fight?"

"I'll find out after all of your fights," Lucina shook her head. She put her food down onto the sandy ground and looked up at Ike with a worried look on her face, "Do you think our King escalated with Sarasaland?"

"I wouldn't doubt it," Ike nodded, not as worried as Lucina, "You know who our King is; if something doesn't go according to plan, he tends to…"

"Become stubborn?" Lucina suggested, "Yeah, I know who he is. That being said, Roy had to get across to him, right? I know that you can't get through to him, and I've always had great difficulty doing so. I think that he'd listen to Roy, though."

"For our sake, I hope that he did…"

* * *

During a hot, hazy afternoon in the Gerudo Valley, the High King lead a company down a slope. Next to him were the members of his council: Luigi, who wore some light armor; Peach, who only wore her signature pink dress; Zelda, also in her dress; Sonic, who also wore light armor; and Kirby, who was newly added to the council and wore his green cap. And, on the High King's left, a Waddle Dee in a bandana walked with a spear in hand. They reached an area where the slope declined extremely steeply below the earth into what seemed like a ravine or valley; the sand decline was surrounded by sandstone. To Luigi, it seemed like a perfect area for an ambush.

"What do you think, bro?" Luigi asked, gripping the green tipped pommel of his sword (that he did not have to use very often).

"That's almost an eight-foot drop," Mario responded, quizzically stroking his chin, "We could go around, but I don't want to split this company up; we'd also be vulnerable if we did."

"Waddle, what do you think?" Sonic asked the Waddle Dee without turning his head.

The Waddle Dee turned and looked at Sonic, confused, "Waddle? You think my name is Waddle? Are you kidding me?"

"Your name isn't important right now. What do you think we should do?" Zelda asked after she turned her head to the Waddle Dee.

The Waddle Dee sighed, seemingly becoming insulted by Zelda's distant, uncaring voice, "Wow, I'm sorry that I'm not a Princess or a Lady."

"You're a girl?" Luigi, Mario, Sonic and Peach asked in unison with shock and bewilderment in their voice.

"My god— I think that we should go through the ravine. Our intelligence says that Lord Bowser's forces aren't anywhere near here, right?"

"But that's _your intelligence_ , not ours," Zelda muttered under her breath. She felt Peach nudge her in the arm.

"Enough of that," Peach whispered.

"Let's go around," the High King said, "Stay away from the ravine; I don't want to get surrounded."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Luigi nodded.

A minute later, the company was divided in half. Luigi, Zelda, Sonic and the Waddle Dee took the left side while Peach, High King Mario and Kirby took the right. Everything seemed relatively calm and normal for the first ten or so feet along the ravine.

Suddenly, a Gerudo soldier climbed from the sand, quickly drawing and firing an arrow. The arrow flew through the air, slicing through the wind, and struck the Waddle Dee between the eyes. Lifelessly, she fell into the ravine. When her body hit the bottom, several more Gerudo and Koopa soldiers raised from the sand; their backs and shells were covered in desert camouflage. However, it seemed that Gerudo soldier was the only one with a bow.

"BANDANA DEE!" Kirby cried as he saw the Waddle Dee lying in the sand, "NO!"

As Kirby reached his little hand into the ravine, a Koopa charged him. Luckily for Kirby, the High King stepped in front of him and caught the Koopa's sword in his. He hit the Koopa's sword away and kicked him into the ravine. Soon, Kirby drew his sword and charged the incoming Gerudo and Koopa. And, unlike the tens of Toads, Hylians and Dreamlanders who fell to the initial ambush, he directly engaged the enemy. The High King spun around and slashed a Gerudo in the chest, sending her back into several of her own. He dodged a stab attempt from a Koopa and countered with his own. As he discarded his blade from the bronze chainmail of the Koopa, a Toad came under his sword and smacked another Koopa in the head with a mace. Quickly after that, the Toad absorbed a blow from a curved Gerudo sword with his shield but was hit in the side with a mace. The Toad fell over, seeing somebody step over him; it was Princess Peach, who smacked the Gerudo with a shield that was laying on the ground. The High King dragged the Toad to his feet as Peach drew back with the shield in her hand. In front of the three were still about one hundred enemy soldiers.

"Get back, Princess," the Toad warned.

"Get back? I just saved your life. I think I can handle myself," Peach responded, holding the shield up to her face.

On the other side of the ravine, Luigi headbutted a Koopa, sending him flying into the ravine. Next to him, he saw Sonic knock a Gerudo into the ravine with a swift sucker punch to the nose. Luigi shook out his sword arm and sidestepped, barely dodging the swing of a battle axe behind him. He spun around and downed the Gerudo with the single stroke of his sword.

"I didn't know you were an adept swordsman, My Lord-Hand," Sonic complemented Luigi as the Hand of the King checked his surroundings.

"I don't like fighting," Luigi explained briefly, "But if I have to fight, I will. By the way, look out!"

Sonic turned around and saw a Koopa charging with both hands over his head holding a sword. However, as soon as Sonic saw him, the Koopa fell onto his face. Behind him was Zelda holding a bow in her hands. She relaxed her arm as the Toads, Hylians and Dreamlanders around them fought like madmen against the Koopas and Gerudos. "You have a bow?" Luigi asked.

"No, I found it on the ground," Zelda corrected. She quickly took an arrow from the ground and drew it. Less than a second later, the arrow found the breastplate of a Gerudo soldier some twenty yards in front of the Princess. She looked around again, then back at the other two, "We have to keep moving; if we stay still, we die."

A squad of Toads and Hylians formed a shield around their High King and Princess. At the head was Kirby, who hit a retreating Gerudo in the back of the knee, then stabbing her in the back. The shield maneuvered slowly against a wall of Gerudo and Koopas. Anytime a Hylian or Toad would fall, another would immediately take their place and avenge them. Eventually, the Gerudo and Koopas were forced to retreat after taking mass casualties.

In the aftermath of the ambush, Kirby and Luigi walked through the ravine inspecting the ground. Several fallen soldiers from both sides lay there as many Toads and Hylians cleaned the field of battle as best they could. "I'm sorry about your friend, Lord Kirby," Luigi said sympathetically, "It was a shame that she had to die in the way she did."

Kirby sighed as he looked up from the ravine. There, he saw Princess Zelda looking down at the dead with Peach and the High King at her sides. After she saw the Little Lord looking at them, the Princess turned and walked out of his view. Turning back to Luigi, Kirby said, "We all die at some point or another, My Lord-Hand. Nobody lives forever."

"Regardless, I'm offering my condolences," Luigi replied, "At least none of us had to join her."

"We fought like hell to get out of that alive," Kirby commented, "They had the upper-hand on us; the element of surprise, the far superior number too. Many brave soldiers had to die today…"

Luigi shook his head, "They didn't die in vain. They died with honor, protecting their King and fighting for a cause worth fighting for."

"Death is death, Luigi. I know for a fact that you are not naïve. However, you must know that, as kind-hearted your intentions are, your words mean nothing. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how you fall or which side you fight for; you're still dead."

* * *

After absorbing a violent blow from Ike's great sword, Fox spun mid-air and landed hard on his stomach. Fox coughed and leaned back, rising to his knees with both his hands still on the ground. Ike spun his sword around, as the others who made a circle around the two fighters cheered and called for more. However, when Ike stepped in the direction of Fox, Fox muttered, "Victory is yours; I submit."

Relieved, Ike spiked his sword into the ground and fell to his knees in exhaustion; finally, after a long, draining fight against Donkey Kong (which he won) and another one against Fox, he had won his freedom. He rose as Fox walked over to him and stuck his hand out. "Good fight, Friend," Fox panted as Ike shook his hand, "I wish you good fortune in the wars to come."

"And I do the same for you," Ike replied with respect in his voice.

Behind Ike was Lucina, who herself had beaten Mega Man in her first fight. Like Ike, she was given her armor and sword back, as well as a chance to fight for her freedom now that she defeated Mega Man. However, she did not know against whom she would fight. Ike walked over to her as she rose from her seated position on a log. When she was standing, Ike gave her a hug.

"You can do it," Ike encouraged her as she hugged him back, "It's just a little Smash; nothing too dangerous."

"I don't know about this," Lucina doubted.

"You'll be fine," Ike assured

When Ike sat down, Lucina walked on the soft sand. Because it was the middle of the night the only things that illuminated their make-shift arena were the torches that the few Smashers carried. Lucina swung her arms back and forth briefly to stretch them out. When she cracked her neck a few times, the crowd of Smashers became silent. Lucina unsheathed her blade and asked, "Who am I fighting this time?"

"Me."

She turned around and was cut by a swinging blade that was blue outlined with gold. Then, she saw Pit jumping back and forth on his legs with those two blades that made his bow. Once more, he attacked Lucina. This time, however, she was able to block the attacks and land a counter on Pit's arm. Pit drew back, then was hit by a slash from Lucina on his shoulder. Lucina and Pit squared each other up as the Smashers around them stayed silent and watched the fight.

Lucina took advantage of Pit's aggression and kept countering anytime he swung with both blades at the same time. When it happened for a third time, Falco, in jest, shouted, "Come on, Pit! Too scared to try something else?"

"Shut up!" Pit snapped.

After dodging Pit's overarching slash attempt, Lucina got behind him and prepared to hit him in the back. However, Pit reacted quickly; he threw his elbow back as fast as he could, smacking Lucina in the nose. Lucina staggered back and saw that Pit was preparing to attack again. Pit spun and left his feet, letting his two swords spin with him. As an act of desperation, Lucina stuck her sword in front of her in an attempt to block. However, her block was too weak; the last swing of Pit's blade sent Lucina's sword out of her hand. She stood up quickly as Pit backed off, spinning his two swords around as well.

"Go on! Get your sword! What are you waiting for!?" Pit shouted.

Lucina quickly ran over to her sword and bent to a knee. And, almost as soon as her knee touched the ground, Pit charged her, hoping to take her by surprise. However, Lucina did not pick up her sword. Instead, she grabbed a dagger on her hip and turned around. Reacting to her sudden movement, Pit dodged her stab attempt and countered, stabbing Lucina right above her collarbone.

Quickly realizing what he did, Pit discarded his blade and walked backwards, his eyes continuing to grow wider and wider. As soon as Lucina hit the ground, having lost control of her body, Ike ran to Pit, furious. To Lucina, everything around her started to slow down. Her vision started to blur as she heard Ike's fist connect on Pit's cheek. No sooner did she feel Fox's hand on her wounded shoulder, whispering something that sounded like a prayer. However, she did hear the words. Every sound became white noise as her vision faded into the shadows…

* * *

As soon as Lucina's body hit the ground, Ike stood up and sprinted towards Pit, wildly launching his fist at Pit the moment he appeared within range. The punch knocked Pit onto his back as Ike shouted and cried, pounding punches into Pit's face. Donkey Kong and Falco rushed over to stop Ike from beating Pit's head. However, Fox ran over to Lucina the moment that she was stabbed, laying next to her wounded shoulder. He lightly caressed her arm and muttered a prayer, "Oh Great Fairy, cast your magic onto this woman, your servant. Bring her back from the darkness and shadows of death…"

"YOU KILLED HER!" Ike screamed as he continued beating Pit's face in, "YOU KILLED HER, YOU—!"

" _You'll_ kill him if you don't stop!" Falco shouted as Ike's shrug threw him off. He tried to restrain him again, "Ike, get off him!"

"NO!"

Finally, Donkey Kong was able to restrain Ike by hugging his large arms around his body. Ike's arms flailed as Pit rose with Falco's help. The chaos stopped again when they heard an abrupt gasp for air. They looked over and saw Lucina suddenly rise from the ground, sitting up as Fox lightly held her wounded arm. Sweat streamed down her face as she panted for air. She looked around herself like a crazed woman, both confused and awestruck.

* * *

"You brought her back from the dead," Ike said, having calmed down greatly from his frenzy an hour earlier. He sat down on a log across from Fox and Falco. In between them was a small fire, which held roasting food over the top of it, "How did you do that?"

"I didn't do anything except say a few words," Fox explained, "The Great Fairy brought her back."

Ike scoffed, "The Great Fairy? You prayed to The Great Fairy, and she brought Lucina back to life?"

Fox nodded, "She's lucky, you know. The Great Fairy doesn't bring anybody back from the dead."

"How do you know this?" Ike asked, looking deep into the flames.

"I've tried this before," Fox sighed. His voice lowered as he recalled a horrific sight, "A few Sarasa Soldiers pillaged a nearby village not too far from here. I tried it there, and the Great Fairy chose not to respond to my prayer."

Ike shook his head, hardly believing anything that Fox was saying, "So, you treat her like a God, or Goddess?"

"We just pray to her; we don't worship her," Falco corrected, "I believe that she only brings those back who have a… Greater purpose in life."

"Who else have you brought back?" Ike inquired.

"Falco, Ness, Donkey Kong…" Fox said, thinking as he was talking, "Lucas… Six times…"

Laughing, Falco looked at Fox with a slight grin, "She sure likes that little idiot, doesn't she?"

"Well, it seems to work on just about everybody then," Ike contradicted, "Can you, perhaps, teach me how to bring people back from the dead?"

Fox laughed at the request, taking his eyes off the fire, "You still don't understand; I don't bring people back from the dead. I pray to the Great Fairy. She chooses whether said person is worthy of being given the gift of life back. If they aren't, they, well, stay dead."

Fox looked behind Ike and saw Lucina sitting on the ground with her back against a stone wall. She looked at her own individual fire as several others walked passed her. By the look on her face, it seemed that she was scarred from how the fight for her freedom ended. Sympathetically, Fox looked at Ike and said, "You're free to leave whenever you like… The both of you."

Surprised, Ike nodded, "Thank you. But, Lucina didn't win her fight."

"I've seen death many times before, Ike," Fox responded with a sympathetic tone, "When you die and come back to life for the first time, it's a traumatic experience. It's a pain and anxiety that's unspeakable; I understand what she's going through… Stay the night, if you want; two of our best horses will be ready for you when you're ready to leave."


	13. The Battle of Birabuto

Around midnight, Luigi sat at a table, looking intently at a map of the Gerudo Valley. Although the fighting there only lasted a week or so to this point, the joint forces of Hyrule, the Mushroom Kingdom and Dreamland made huge gains. By Luigi's judgement, by the time of his wedding, they should be at the border of the Gerudo Valley and Smash Territory. To his left were High King Mario and Peach. Both were getting ready to leave, for they just finished a council and strategy meeting, but Luigi did not move from his spot.

"Luigi, are you leaving?" the High King asked as Peach opened the entrance of the tent, "It's the middle of the night; we all need some rest."

"I'll be out in a minute," Luigi sighed, "I'm just going to look over our battle plan for our next… Engagement."

"Don't stay up too late," Peach advised sweetly.

After Peach and Mario left the tent, Luigi sighed in exhaustion and straightened up in the chair. He leaned over to get a better view of the map and studied the landscape. Earlier in their meeting, they planned to continue on the path south, taking any Gerudo-Koopa-occupied fortress or area. Also, they planned for Sonic and Kirby to head west, towards Dreamland's border with the Gerudo Valley, with the hope of completely eradicating Ganon's influence in the Valley. Luigi played around with the number of troops that they would send with Sonic and Kirby: ten thousand? Maybe closer to fifteen? Now that they had around seventy-five thousand, they could spare close to twenty thousand and still have enough troops to fight towards the Smash Territory…

When Luigi decided on a number, he heard somebody quietly enter the tent, almost as if he or she was not supposed to be there. Luigi reached for the dagger to his left on the table before looking up. However, when he looked up from the wooden table, he saw Samus wearing her signature Zero Suit. Surprised because she was supposed to be in either Dreamland or the Mushroom Kingdom, Luigi asked, "What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here."

"Am I not?" she asked back with a smile. She walked towards him and said, "If I'm not supposed to be here, with my future husband, where am I supposed to be?"

"Somewhere where you won't be in danger of getting yourself killed," Luigi answered as he put the dagger down.

Samus laughed and asked, with sarcasm in her voice, "You think that _I_ am in danger of getting killed by a turtle?"

Realizing the stupidity of his previous comment, Luigi shrugged and muttered, "Or a Gerudo…" He cleared his throat and asked, "How did you make it through the camp at this time of night anyways?"

"Clearly, you don't even know who I am," she laughed again, "And that's why I'm here, my Lord-Hand. If we're going to be married, we ought to know a little about one-another. Wouldn't you agree?"

Seeing her point, Luigi nodded, "Okay, you make a good argument."

Samus smiled and sat on the table where Luigi was seated. She leaned over and looked at the map that Luigi had studied a minute before her entry. As she looked at the map, Luigi looked up at her and noticed, really for the first time, how tight the Zero Suit was around her very athletic body. "Um… How is that suit comfy?" asked Luigi, becoming more and more nervous (evident from his voice), "It looks ridiculously tight…"

Seeing that Luigi awkwardly looked down, Samus turned to face him and answered, "It's not _that_ bad. I couldn't fight anybody if it were too loose, you know?"

"Sure," Luigi nodded his head, still awkwardly looking away from Samus.

Still seeing that Luigi was still making a conscious effort not to look at her, Samus grinned slightly, finding enjoyment at Luigi's expense, "Are you okay, my Lord-Hand? You seem-"

"Awkward? It's just that… Well, your Zero Suit works well for you, but…"

"But what?"

Luigi shrugged and sighed in frustration, "You know, forget it."

Samus chuckled and looked at Luigi, who had just gotten up from the table and yawned. He still did not look at his future wife and said, "It's getting late now, my Lady. We should be going. It's going to be a big day tomorrow; with the war and all…"

"You could spare a few more minutes talking to me, can't you?" Samus asked incredibly politely, "I don't really know the man I'm supposed to marry, so I'd like to."

Luigi took a breath and looked up at Samus. He nodded and said, "Okay. What do you want to talk about?"

"I can talk about just about anything," Samus responded as Luigi sat on the table next to her, "The current state of the Realm, Smashville, the tyranny of Ganondorf and his wife, Rosalina-"

It seemed that the mere mention of Rosalina's name startled Luigi. Rattled, he asked, "Oh… You know Rosalina?"

"She's the only shining spot in Ganon's capital city and probably the nicest person that I've ever met... She's marrying the evillest person I've ever met. It's funny how life turns out, isn't it?"

"Well, she's not as nice of a person as you think she is. You know what we call her back home?"

"The Traitor of the Mushroom Kingdom. I know that you guys up north see her as a _Judas_ -type figure, but she seems really sweet. Whenever I've had a conversation with her, it seems that she's always trying to do the right thing."

"She does the right thing, but for the wrong reasons."

Luigi looked down at the ground as Samus kept studying his face. She asked, "When we reach The Capital, what will happen to her?"

"That's not for me to decide," Luigi told her after a few seconds of thought, "Our King will decide what to do to her. I think that he'll give her the same treatment that he gives to Ganondorf."

"Which is…?" she inquired.

Luigi shook his head, "Death."

As Samus nodded solemnly, Luigi leaned over and continued quietly, "Between you and me, I think that we should bring her back. Though what Rosalina did was unspeakable, I think that she's still good. The only question is whether my brother thinks the same."

"Have you told him this?" Samus asked again.

"No," Luigi shook his head, still whispering, "It can be our little secret."

"Having secrets from the King, now? I didn't take you to be a man like this, my Lord-Hand," Samus said lightly.

Luigi shrugged with a half-grin on his face, "If we're going to be married, we'll have a few secrets."

"Well, my Lord-Hand, King Dedede told me about your… Reluctance to marry me," Samus began, changing the topic smoothly and naturally, "I'm not holding that against you, but curiosity compels me to ask you why. Never before, in my life really, has anybody, man or woman, been resistant to be in a relationship with me."

Luigi, hoping that their late-night conversation would not come to this, sighed and answered truthfully, "At the time I was informed that I was arranged to marry you, which was just before the Accords in Castle Town, I was kind of in a relationship with somebody."

"Oh?"

"Yeah… It was a long-distance thing; we haven't really seen each other in the past couple months, you know… The last time I saw my Flower Princess was before this war started. Come to think of it, that was months ago," Luigi explained slightly embarrassed.

Sympathetically, Samus rested the side of her head on Luigi's shoulder closest to her. She closed her eyes momentarily and apologetically said, "I'm sorry, Weegee."

"Weegee?" he questioned, extremely confused, "Why did you call me that?"

"Tried to be cute and all," she answered, "...Did it work?"

"Uh… Not really," Luigi answered honestly. He sighed again, "Sometimes, I think that if I forget about her, my life would be so much easier."

Mischievously, Samus looked at Luigi and suggested, "I think I can help you forget about her, my Lord-Hand."

"How?"

* * *

The sandy fields of Sarasa were smooth and seemed like the perfect battlefield. King Marth hoped to take advantage of his army's great stroke of luck; since their march, they had captured Sarasa forts along the coast stretching towards Sarasaland's capital and have obliterated whole brigades while taking minor casualties. Now, they waited on the front gates of a crucial strategic point, the Fortress of Birabuto. And, by eleven o'clock the next morning, they would be in a military engagement with Sarasa soldiers and, hopefully by noon, they would have taken the castle.

Just outside of their camp, Ness and Robin stood at watch. It was the middle of the night, yet the desert landscape seemed only to get hotter and hotter. Briefly, Ness took off her baseball cap in order to cool off. As he wiped the sweat off his face, Robin chuckled, "Sweaty tonight, huh?"

"The hottest night that I've been through, My Lord," Ness sighed back. In his exhaustion, he spiked a knee and rested on the ground for a few moments, "How hot do you think it is right now?"

"It's not overly hot, it's just humid as hell," Robin answered back, not looking away from the road ahead of them. Suddenly, he saw a flame in the distance that looked like a torch.

"Ness, do you see that?" Robin asked, losing the light mood he just had.

Ness looked up from the ground and did see a flame in the distance. He stood up quickly and took a step or two down the road before stopping, "Sarasa guerrillas maybe?" he suggested.

"If they are, they're very bad at their job," Robin replied, reaching for his sword, "Come on. Let's go investigate."

"We can't go! What if they're trying to lure us away from the gate?" Ness asked, "I'll stay here; you go."

About twenty minutes later, King Marth was summoned to the main tent by his temporary Hand, Roy, and his temporary commander, Robin. It was evident that the King had just been asleep, for there was still drowsiness in his eyes and pajama bottoms on his legs. When the King entered the tent, both Roy and Robin were fully dressed in their regular armors and clothing. They both bowed out of courtesy and greeted, "Your Grace."

"This better be good," Marth said weary, "We have a battle to fight tomorrow, and I need my beauty rest."

"Okay, calm down, Your Grace," Roy shook his head. He straightened back up and said, "It is good. Follow us."

The King followed Roy and Robin outside of the tent and down a path between the medical tent and a larger one. In the larger one, the King saw, for the first time in close to two months, Ike and Lucina. Both looked tired and dirty, but Lucina looked shaken by something; her eyes looked at nothing and she seemed to be shaking in her position, which was fetal.

Immediately, Ike rose from the bed that he was seated on and bowed, "Your Majesty."

Ike stayed bowing until the King stood directly in front of him. When Ike rose, he was met by a hug from King Marth. "It's so good to see you again," Marth said after letting go, "What happened to you?"

"We got to Sarasaland, then the Flower Princess told us that she hunts you down in the name of High King Mario," Ike explained, "We got out of there with no harm done to us, but then we were abducted by the Steel Foxes. They made us fight for our freedom."

"Those savages…" the King shook his head as he looked at Lucina. When he noticed a wound in her shoulder, he commented, "I'll take it that Lucina's fight didn't go so well…"

"We're back, and that's all that matters," Ike told his King with great pride, "I am your sword again, Your Grace; I will be until my death."

"The timing of your arrival couldn't be better," Marth said, "Get some rest, Ike. We have a fortress to take tomorrow morning."

* * *

The High King finished a Gerudo with a slash across the chest. As the Gerudo hit the ground hard, Mario looked around him; in the chaos of battle, a couple thousand of their troops died and the Gerudo-Koopa forces' casualties tripled that number. High King Mario looked back and saw Sonic step over several fainted Pokemon. Confused, the High King approached the blue hedgehog in the field littered with the aftermath of the battle.

"My Lord Sonic, aren't you supposed to be taking the Dreamland-Gerudo border?" he asked.

"There was nothing to take, Your Majesty," Sonic explained, "We had a few skirmishes this morning, but they've all retreated into the Smash Territory. Lord Kirby has already made way for Mushroom City."

"I find that hard to believe," High King Mario replied, looking around the relatively flat battlefield, "This is their homeland; why would they give it up so easily?"

"Maybe they're prepping for a counterattack," Sonic suggested.

"I highly doubt it," the High King brushed off. He began walking away from the battlefield with Sonic at his side, "When are you departing for Mushroom City?" he asked his advisor.

Sonic shrugged, "Probably soon; the wedding is in a few weeks."

"I know," the High King said. The walk back to their camp was short and, when they got back to there, High King Mario saw Luigi and Samus talking with Peach and Zelda, "And I think that they know as well."

A few Toads passed Sonic as he asked, "Isn't the Lady of Dreamland supposed to be in the Mushroom Kingdom right now…?"

"I… I'll see you later, Lord Sonic," his King replied, sounding as if thinking aloud.

The High King walked over to the group and noticed that Samus was wearing a dress designed similar to King Dedede's robes. He also noticed that she was hugging Luigi's arm as Luigi talked with Peach and Zelda. It was unusual for Mario to see this; a little while ago, Luigi absolutely dreaded the idea of marrying somebody who was not Daisy. Now, the Hand of the King seemed to love the idea as much as he loved his bride-to-be.

"You two seem to be warmed up to each other," the High King commented.

Peach smiled and stood next to Mario, "I know, right? It's refreshing to see."

"Well, I'm just glad that _Weegee_ stopped fighting it," Samus grinned.

The High King shot a look at Luigi, whose face became redder than Mario's signature cap, and began laughing, "Okay, what did she just call you?"

"Um…" Luigi muttered, rather embarrassed, "She… She didn't say anything."

"No, I think that she just called you _Weegee,_ " the High King laughed more, "It's cute, _Lord Weegee, Hand of the High King_ … It's really cute."

"ANYWAYS," Luigi continued loudly, trying to change the topic and hide the redness of his cheeks, "We were just discussing that, since we just took over the Gerudo Valley, that we should all be heading home. You know, for the wedding."

"Of course," the High King nodded, "Sonic and I were just talking about that. Lord Kirby has already left, and I assume that King Dedede is already there."

"So, we should be going tomorrow, right?" Peach asked.

"Yes," the High King nodded, "If we leave tomorrow, we'll get there a few days before the Wedding of the Lady of Dreamland and Lord _Weegee_."

"MARIO!"

"I'm sorry, my Lord-Hand! It's just _too easy_ …."

* * *

By eleven o'clock the next morning, King Marth stood on the battlefield and looked out in front of him. There, directly in front of him, was the Fortress of Birabuto, a large castle with a giant gate surrounding it. Over the morning, the King and his council decided to soften the Sarasa defenses by hitting the walls with fireballs from spell tomes and some other supplies they had: built catapults mostly, but also the PK abilities of Ness. As Marth watched the bombardment on top of a horse, Ike approached him. Unlike the night before, Ike was now clean shaven and back to what he looked like before.

"That's a great castle we're going to sack, My King," Ike told him, looking out at the castle.

"Yes, it is," the King nodded in agreement, "If we take this point, we can use it as a base to drive into Sarasaville"

"Let's go kill some Sarasa then," Ike nodded, turning back to join the army.

"Wait," his King requested. When Ike turned around once more to face his King, Marth asked, "What happened to Lucina? She's unable to join us in the battle today, and she seemed distraught last night."

"She hasn't said much since the Steel Foxes, Your Grace," Ike sighed heavily, "It's unfortunate, but…"

"But what, Commander?"

Shrugging indecisively, Ike promised, "I'll tell you after the battle."

The King followed Ike back to the army and looked at them: along with the former Smash Brothers they had, there were an additional couple thousand all ready to run into battle. The King looked ahead at the castle then back to his soldiers, "There sits men without honor, who fight not in the name of the Flower Princess. Instead of her name, the fight for a False King that I'm sure you all have heard about. This will not be a clean fight, no; I expect men like them to fight to their last breath with methods unimaginable to honorable soldiers like us. They have brought, and continue to bring, great shame to the people of this great land. It is our job to liberate the people of Sarasa, _our people_ , from those who follow and worship a False, Evil King. Forward!"

From the castle, a Sarasa soldier saw thousands of soldiers charging the castle. All the shields in the lot had the symbol of Marth's sword on them. After he yelled that the attack had begun, the front gates of the castle opened and out poured thousands of Sarasa soldiers clad in their orange armor. The two sides, one spearheaded by crazed orange soldiers, and the other by Marth and Ike, crashed into one another. All around Marth was the violence of combat: soldiers being stabbed by the enemy, maces destroying bones and faces, the arrows from each side piercing armor of whoever was unfortunately fighting in that place, horses running wildly, taking out whoever stood in their way….

In the back, Roy stood in front of five rows of archers. Directly behind him and to his right was Ness, one of the only Smash Brothers to hand back and be an archer. "Nock!" Roy shouted. All the archers, in unison, nocked their bows and held them facing down.

"Draw!" Now, all the archers, once again in unison, drew their arrows back and aimed them high into the sky.

"LOOSE!"

At Roy's command, the arrows were fired towards the battlefield. Briefly, the arrows blocked out the sun on a cloudless day, covering their victims in shadows before killing them. Marth caught a sword's swing with his blade and slipped another attack. He stabbed the soldier in the chest and quickly withdrew his blade. As the soldier fell back, the King felt a sword cut his cape. He spun and quickly saw a large Sarasa soldier with a large battle axe above his head, ready to swing down. The King rolled to his right, barely dodging the axe. The King swung his sword quickly at the large soldier, cutting the soldier in the arm. Marth landed a combination which proved to be a deadly one. He saw Ike down a Sarasa soldier and be grabbed by one of his own, who was trying to tell him something. Reacting instinctively, Ike threw his elbow backwards and spun around, killing that soldier with a blow to the head.

The King ran across the battlefield, ducking and dodging any blade, mace, axe or arrow in his path. Finally, he reached Corrin and shouted, "GET WORD TO—!"

However, before he could finish, Corrin's neck was hit by an arrow. As Corrin fell to the ground, Marth staggered back; the sight of death was not new to him, but the death of somebody like Corrin, who seemed so invincible because he was a Smash Bro, shook him. The King had to quickly shrug it off and run to somebody else.

A minute later, Roy shouted, "Put the bows down! We'll be killing our own at this point; stand down!"

After they put their bows down, he saw Shulk sprinting away from the field of battle. When he reached them, he panted, "It's time, my Lord."

Roy looked over to his left, at Robin, and nodded his head. Robin retreated towards their camp as Roy drew his sword. He turned to his archers and said, "You better be ready to die today. Because, if you're not ready to fall in battle for your King, you sure as hell will."

Roy sprinted into the battle, along with the first two lines of archers. They ran into the battle and smashed into the first line of Sarasa soldiers they could see. The reinforcements proved to be worth while because, as soon as they got to the front line, a path opened in the carnage of battle.

Marth spun around and slashed a horse-backed Sarasa in the chest, sending him flying off the horse. As Marth ran over and finished the Sarasa with a stab, the horse kept charging, finally being stopped by another charging horse. The King turned around and saw Ike turn his body and hit the ground just before another volley of arrows rained down. Marth turned and saw that Lucario had been hit in the chest. The King ran to Lucario as Ike stood up, unfazed by the arrow volley.

"Ike! Get him back!" King Marth yelled as he helped Lucario stand. As Ike reached him, Marth yelled, "GO! GO! GO!"

Just as Ike left the field with Lucario, the King turned around and was struck in his chest by a mace. The blow sent him onto his back, helpless as the Sarasa soldier prepared to end the King. However, he was stabbed in the back by a flaming blade. When the Sarasa was tossed aside, King Marth saw Roy. Roy helped his King up and said, "You alright?"

The King looked down at his chest; the armor piece over it was completely shattered, but he was okay. "Thank god for Sarasa Steel," the King panted.

The two heard a sound from behind them. They saw many Smashers (Shulk, Ness, Greninja, Ike and Little Mac) pushing a massive wheel drawn battering ram with wooden cover. In front of them was Robin, who created a green shield in front of them with one of his spell tomes. However, the shield quickly wore off once a Sarasa soldier pierced the book with an arrow. Marth and Roy quickly ran to the battering ram for cover and to help.

"Where's Lucario?" Marth asked Ike, who was pushing the ram with all the force he could.

Ike struggled to say anything, but he finally did, "He's… okay…"

"Your Grace! Get up here with me!" Roy shouted, "There's more soldiers!"

"I thought that they closed the gate!" Marth shouted back.

"Well, now it's closed!" Roy shouted.

Several more minute of fighting later, they reached the metallic gate of the fortress. As several Smashers hit the gate with the battering ram, Roy looked up and saw two Sarasa soldiers tipping several black cauldrons over the ledge of the castle. "LOOK OUT!" Roy shouted.

The liquid, which was already steaming and boiling on it's descent, hit the battering ram and quickly withered away at the wooden ram. Several of Marth's soldiers, and the few Sarasa soldiers left out on the field, were doused in that scorching hot liquid. The actual fighting on the field stopped, for the little Sarasa soldiers left all were running around in a hot pain. They kept trying the battering ram, but to no avail. Finally, after several more cauldrons were poured onto the ram, Roy shouted, "Forget the ram! Get back; I can open the gate!"

Knowing what Roy was planning to do, Marth shouted, "Roy, as your King and your friend, I demanded that you stop!"

"Get back!" Roy shouted back, ignoring Marth's order. He readied his sword and tensed his body; he seemed to become red, his sword becoming increasingly louder and fierier.

"RUN!" Robin yelled as everybody by the battering ram sprinted back. About five seconds later, there was a massive explosion right at the metallic gate. The explosion completely destroyed the gate and the rest of the castle wall above it. The blast went straight up in every direction, taking most of the archers and reserves of Sarasa with it. When the black smoke finally cleared, and everyone's ears stopped ringing, they saw a large hole in the castle's wall.

"FOR THE KING!" Robin shouted before charging in. All of Marth's remaining soldiers on the field rushed into the gate and started to sack the castle and everybody inside. However, Marth and Ike hung back; they saw Roy laying down outside of the hole. His entire body was covered in black ash.

They ran to him and saw that all his armor and face were completely black from the explosion. Next to him was his sword, which was now broken; the blade was mostly gone and what was left of it was entirely black. "Did… Did I do it?" Roy asked exhausted.

"Yeah, you did," Marth smiled, "And now, because of you, we've won the day."

"Good… Good…"

Ike and Marth helped Roy to his feet. They turned back towards their camp, and Ike panted, "Let's go get you patched up, Friend."


	14. Semper Fidelis

Meta Knight slowly exited the chamber of the Small Council in King Ganon's castle. He walked down the corridor, checking over his shoulder every-so-often for any guards that may be following him. When he reached the end of the corridor, he made a sharp left turn down into another corridor. There, he saw Rosalina leaning on a railing. As she looked out towards the Capital and the clear blue sky, Meta Knight approached her and looked out at the city as well.

"I have a letter for you," Rosalina told, her eyes looking ahead at the city, "It's from the Little Lord."

"I guess he's in the Mushroom Lands right now, getting ready for a wedding," Meta Knight responded, also looking at the city.

Rosalina nodded her head curiously and inquired, "Wedding? Who's getting married?"

"The Lady of Dreamland and the Hand of the High King," Meta Knight quickly answered, "Now, the letter?"

Rosalina relaxed her left hand, the one closest to Meta Knight, and a letter fell from it. After the letter dropped down to the ground, Meta Knight looked around. When he saw that nobody else was nearby, he picked the letter up and opened it slowly. "If you had told me that Luigi would marry Samus Aran one day, I'd call you mad," Rosalina commented as Meta Knight read the letter over, "I'm assuming that they aren't getting married on their own accord?"

"No… It was arranged…" mumbled Meta Knight, his attention clearly on the letter. He finished reading the letter, he crumpled it in his hand, "At the Castle Town Accords, they arranged a marriage to further unite the two sides."

Rosalina looked down and saw the now-crumpled letter, "And what did our Little Lord have to say?" she asked.

After he wrapped his cape around his body, Meta Knight sighed, " _Semper Fidelis_ … _Momento mori…"_

"What language is that? Latin?" Rosalina asked, confused, "I didn't know you two knew how to speak Latin."

"We don't," Meta Knight shook his head. He turned away from the future queen and said, "Same place tonight, okay? I need to write a reply to the Little Lord."

When Meta Knight left the corridor, Rosalina bent over and picked up the letter. She was able to open the very compacted letter again and saw the contents of it; on the piece of parchment, there were only those two phrases with the symbol of the High King's rebellion at the bottom of the page (a Mushroom infused with the Triforce). Hoping to puzzle out the cryptic letter later, Rosalina put it back up her sleeve.

* * *

It was the biggest day in the Mushroom Kingdom, Hyrule and Dreamland: the wedding day of Luigi and Samus. The ceremony was to start just before sunset, and then the reception would carry on into the night and early morning. Then, a couple days to a week after the wedding, the forces of the High King would return to the Gerudo Valley to begin the invasion of the Smash Territory.

After a tour of one of the WarioWare Factories in Mushroom City, Luigi and Peach walked towards the current venue of the wedding, a local church in the heart of the city. Because it was a _royal wedding_ , many civilians who lived inside the Mushroom Kingdom and Hyrule journeyed to the city for the biggest event in recent Mushroom Kingdom history. Luigi and Peach, wearing their regular attire, stopped and looked at some of the buildings along the street of the glowing metropolitan city.

"Do you think Daisy will show up today?" Luigi asked.

"Probably not. Sarasaland's very far from here," Peach shook her head, resuming to walk in the direction of the church. However, when she noticed that Luigi was not following her, she stopped and turned back to him, "My Lord-Hand, are you okay?"

Luigi let out a heavy sigh. He was more than okay— in fact, he was extremely excited to be marrying the Lady of Dreamland in a matter of hours. However, he could not stop thinking about Princess Daisy. Even though it had been weeks since her last letter, and almost a year since they last saw each other, he still loved her very much.

"You can't be getting cold feet right now," Peach warned, trying to be sympathetic and stern at the same time, "The wedding is in a few hours—"

"I know, I know," Luigi shook his head, "I love Samus, Peach. You know that… But, I still love Daisy—"

"Listen Luigi, you have to let her go. I'm sorry that you're in this situation, but it's for the greater good. Now, let's go; the moment you see her walking down the aisle in that church, you'll forget all about The Flower Princess," Peach assured.

About six hours later, Luigi stood in front of a collection of close to a thousand Toads, Hylians and residents of Dreamland. Unlike before, when he was just wearing his regular overalls, Luigi now wore a large brown fur scarf that wrapped around both his shoulders and a foot down his back. On his hip was his sword strapped to a brown belt. And, now on his scarf was the Pin of the Hand. Luigi looked across at the large church, following the red and white carpet between the pews, to the large wooden door at the back. His bride-to-be was running late along with his brother, who would give her away to him. The King's Hand tapped his foot nervously and looked down at the ground. He heard the hedgehog next to him say, "Where the hell are they?"

"Do you think that I'd be _this nervous_ if I knew?" Luigi asked nervously, "Who knows where they went…?"

"I guess _something_ has to go wrong… It is a wedding day, after all," Sonic remarked, straightening back up. Luigi looked over to Sonic and saw that he was wearing the leather armor he was always wearing nowadays.

Agitated because nothing seemed to be going right, Luigi whispered, "Why the hell are you wearing armor?"

"I think I looked good in it," Sonic said, "Why do you care?"

"Because you're in my wedding party—!"

Suddenly, the large wooden doors at the back of the church opened. And a second later, High King Mario walked inside the church with the Lady of Dreamland at his side. The High King had a black scarf much like his brothers and a crown on the top of his head. The Lady on his side wore a white low-cut dress that fit her figure very well. Everything below the waist of dress was completely crimson. And suddenly, Peach was right: the moment Luigi saw Samus walking down the aisle, he forgot all about his Flower Princess.

* * *

Later that night, Rosalina looked at the clear night sky over the dark capital city. As she inspected the stars, Meta Knight walked into the corridor the exact way he had earlier. Once again, he joined her at the ledge. After he dropped the letter to the ground, he said, "Get this out tomorrow morning. I want it to reach Dreamland in a few days."

"Dreamland? Why are you sending it to Dreamland and not the Gerudo Valley?" Rosalina asked, not looking at Meta Knight again.

Meta Knight shrugged his right shoulder as he wrapped his cape around his body. He looked up at the stars and said, "The less you know the better. Good night, My Lady."

As Meta Knight got ready to leave the corridor, Rosalina spoke up, "Meta Knight, wait. Before you go, can I ask you a question?"

He stopped walking and faced the future queen again, "What's your question?"

"Just about that letter earlier," Rosalina began, "What do those two phrases mean? What were they again? _Semper Fidelis_ and _Momento Mori_?"

" _Always Faithful_ , Rosalina. _Semper Fidelis_ means _Always Faithful_."

"And the other one?"

"I think that you're smart enough to figure that out on your own."

* * *

"KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!" the great hall chanted. And, to please the party, the newlyweds kissed, causing an eruption of cheering and chatter.

The main hall of Princess Peach's castle was filled up entirely of Waddle Doos and Dees, high born Toads and Hylians. It was close to midnight at this point, so much of the party was _roaring_ drunk, with few exceptions (such as the High King's Small Council, the newlyweds themselves and King Dedede). Although it was nighttime in Mushroom City, the great hall was lit beautifully by what appeared to be a golden light from the chandelier. In the front of the many tables in the hall was one long table which sat the High King's Small Council, King Dedede, the Lady of Dreamland, and a few other members of the wedding party. And, after about the fifth time in a span of ten minutes that the hall made the newlyweds kiss, more dance music began to play, and rather loudly as well. Quickly, Luigi and Samus got up and had their _first dance_ … For the sixth or seventh time that night.

Zelda, who stood near the dance floor, smiled and laughed at how much Luigi and Samus loved each other. And, just as High King Mario pulled Peach towards that area, Sonic approached Zelda with a cup in his hand. "Your Majesty," he greeted with a smile across his face, "Hasn't this been an absolutely wonderful evening?"

The Princess smiled and nodded her head, "It has been a nice break from the action, my Lord Sonic. You know, it's a shame that everyday can't be as fun as today has been."

Agreeing with her to an extent, Sonic responded, "Well, if every night were like this one, don't you think it'd get boring after a while?"

"Well," Zelda began, "Last time I was in the Mushroom Kingdom was many, may months ago… Whenever Mario was declared his own Kingship. So much has happened since then… I don't think I'd get bored of this atmosphere anytime soon. I only wish that my Silent Knight could've made the trip."

"I'm sure you'll see him soon, Your Majesty," Sonic said sympathetically, "Don't you worry about it."

As she watched Luigi and Samus dance together and get lost in each other's company, Zelda noticed a subtle change to the music. The happy dance music that the orchestra had played suddenly changed to a tune that was more narrative, as if the lyrics would tell a story. And, almost immediately, the song made her feel uneasy, though she could not figure out why. The Princess thought that it was an odd choice of music to play when she took account the happy, fun party-esc atmosphere that the reception had. As the tune went on, and the party still tried to dance to it, she recognized the song but could not exactly think of what the song was. Suddenly and almost unconsciously, she sang the lyrics to the last verse in her head:

 _And so she tried, and now she dies  
That Princess of Hyrule  
Yes, now the Dream is her downfall  
And no one's there to hear  
Yes, now the Dream's King reigns supreme  
There's no more Hylians here_

The music slowly faded out as Zelda's eyes went wide. She looked over at the table, where King Dedede sat alongside Kirby, who calmly ate his ninth plate of food. Her heart nearly dropped too, when she noticed that the doors to the hall had shut during the conclusion of the last song. The wedding seemed completely oblivious to the entire situation, for everybody kept dancing and chatting among themselves until King Dedede rose. When he rose, Kirby stopped eating and looked up at the Dream's King.

"Forgive me, forgive me," King Dedede began with a glass in his hand. He looked up and saw that High King Mario, Peach and Luigi stood in the center of the dance floor, still smiling from their dancing; he had them right where he wanted them, "I know that we've had many a toast tonight, so I guess I'll give the last one, for I neglected my responsibility as a part of the bride's wedding party to do so earlier. Once again, please forgive me."

The King's remarks drew laughter and chuckles from the crowd. In fact, everybody cracked a smile except for Zelda. When she looked next to her, she noticed that Sonic was gone from her side. Paralyzed by unspeakable fear, Zelda remained silent as King Dedede continued, "I also neglect to give our High King, his Small Council, and army what they truly deserve… That is, until now."

Suddenly, the Toad next to Zelda was hit in the chest by an arrow. Then, as Zelda was about to scream for her High King, she felt an arrow tear through her shoulder. As she fell down to the ground, several of the Waddle Dees and Doos inside the Great Hall attacked; many Toads and Hylians were helpless to the steel of the Dreamlanders. And, just as some of the Toads and Hylians fought back, the Dreamland forces from afar slaughtered them with crossbows. From the ground, in between a Toad and a Hylian, Zelda watched in horror; the High King was shot by an arrow, which tore just below his shoulder blade and out his chest. Next to him, Peach was pierced by an arrow in the stomach and fell over onto her side, just next to a table. And, just as Luigi fled from the slaughter in the hall in attempt to find cover, he was shot directly in the back. The Hand of the King fell forward, onto his face and did not move from the ground. The chaos inside the hall lasted maybe two minutes, and eventually the Lady of Dreamland was betrayed with an arrow to the neck. As she sprawled out onto the top of a table, King Dedede sat back alongside Kirby, watching the great end of Hylian-Toad rebellion with a cold drink and some food in hand.

* * *

A minute or two after falling to the ground onto his face, Luigi felt two or three more bodies fall on top of him. Along the ground, Luigi crawled through the wedding, once a joyful and happy atmosphere a minute before. Quickly, he saw any wounded Toad or Hylian being finished off swiftly by Waddles Dees, Doos, Lord Kirby and… Sonic…

Luigi was able to crawl very slowly towards Princess Peach, who wept quietly while lying on her side. Acting quickly, Luigi crawled under the table that Peach had fallen next to and whispered, "Princess, you have to be silent! If they see that you're still alive, they'll finish you off…"

"Luigi…" muttered Peach through her muffled cries, "They killed everybody… _At a wedding_ …"

Quickly, Luigi pulled her under the table with him and shushed her. He tried to hold her in a way that made it seem like they had fallen alongside the rest of the army inside the great hall, but also in a way to comfort her. And, directly across from them, they saw Princess Zelda, with an arrow poking through her shoulder, struggle to find cover behind a few bodies and a table. The squad patrolling the room put down another wounded, moaning Hylian with a swift stab to the chest as the High King, wounded in his chest, rose weakly from the ground.

"Ah," King Dedede laughed, his voice cold and taunting, " _The High King of the Smash_ arises."

The High King looked around for anybody, desperate for anything that looked like life. However, he could not see Peach nor Luigi, just a room of littered with Toads and Hylians. Part of Luigi wanted to go out and join his brother to fight to their last breaths against an evil King _together_ , but he knew better; to go out now, while they were both wounded, and fight against crossbows with swords would be suicide. If he stayed down and played his cards right, he would live a little while longer. The choice was hard for Luigi, but he had to trust his gut feeling.

Hopelessly, Mario turned to King Dedede. His face expression was blank and his eyes were horrified. The High King was unable to speak, feeling absolutely sick from the events he was just subjected to. Suddenly, Zelda acted quickly and grabbed the thing closest to her: Lord Kirby. Kirby fought back and almost broke free from her grip but stopped moving the moment he felt a jagged dagger on his body. As his feet dangled in the air, all the Dreamlanders around them froze.

"Let it end!" Zelda screamed, her voice breaking up, "On my honor as the Princess of the Kingdom of Hyrule, let it end or I'll kill Kirby!"

"What honor do you put your claim on?" King Dedede snapped back, "The kind of honor that compels you to sponsor a coup to overthrow a King who has never done anything to you? Or is it the kind of honor that only negotiates in _her terms_ and drags others into wars that she can't win on her own? If you haven't noticed Princess Zelda, you're in no position to be making demands!"

"My King," Zelda shouted towards Mario as she held Kirby against his will, "you must go now! Go! Please, for the love Nayru, get out of here!"

"Why would I let him do that?" King Dedede asked, still taunting the others, "He is the face of your rebellion; if I let him go, this will never end."

"Mario!" Zelda shouted, snapping her head towards Mario. Her voice became more and more desperate with every word; her grip around the Little Lord tightened, and the knife crept closer to breaking skin, "You have to leave! Save yourself! Please…!"

Walking as if he were in a nightmare, High King Mario looked on at the room. Slowly, the High King turned to Princess Zelda, his face still blank, "Everybody's gone, Zelda… They're all—"

Before the High King could finish, Sonic appeared from his left and stepped in front of him. The King gave no reaction, however, "Your reign is over, False King."

After the final blow to the chest by Sonic's knife, the High King's body went limp. He fell onto his knees as the blue hedgehog stood over him, holding the weapon of the High King's demise. No more words were uttered by the High King, who fell back onto the cold, hard ground. For Luigi, the only thing more heartbreaking than watching his King's, and _brother's_ , death was holding Peach back, suppressing her cries and feeling the hot tears stream down her face and onto his hand…

The site of the High King's death took Zelda by surprise. As his body hit the ground, she lost control of her own; everything they had worked so hard to achieve over the course of their rebellion was lost in one night. Although she knew that she released Kirby from her grip, she did not care anymore. The rebellion was over now, and her gut feeling was right. All along she knew something was going to happen had they entrusted Dreamland as much as they had. Now, as her High King laid dead before her very eyes, and her army slaughtered just outside of the gates, she realized how much she overstepped and miscalculated; her world came crashing down onto herself.

However, this newly found pain did not last. Not very long after, she felt somebody's blade at her throat; the steel of the blade was cold and deadly…


	15. Momento Mori

After getting to the roof of the castle, Kirby walked out and towards the ledge. When he got to the ledge, it looked like the streets of Mushroom City were covered in fire. And, on the streets, members of the Dreamland army sacked the city: shops and houses were ablaze, lighting the dark night in an orange flame; they pillaged those shops and raided every building that they came across; the guards and police of Mushroom City did not stand a chance, for they were not ready for an attack of this nature. As Kirby watched the city fall to the army of his homeland, there was an explosion in a nearby factory, the WarioWare Factory that they had toured some hours earlier. The High King of the Smash was no more, and his army would be gone by sunrise. Lord Kirby had completed what he set out to do, in the name of the _Rightful_ King of the Realm, but he did not feel accomplished… He felt ashamed.

* * *

As soon as the hall was clear, Luigi crawled out from underneath the table. And, when he was standing up after an hour of hiding with Peach, he reached around and pulled the arrow from his back. Most of his clothing was wet and dirty, and so was his face. As Luigi panted and doubled over, Peach followed him slowly. Seeing that she was still shaken from the wedding, he walked over to her and hugged her silently. "I can't believe it, Luigi… It's over…" Peach said quietly and sadly.

"We have to go," Luigi sighed, making sure that he stood between her and the fallen King. However, Peach saw what he was trying to do and pushed him out of her way. Luigi was too tired to fight back and gave up trying to shield Peach's eyes from the massacre. He shook his head and looked down as Peach looked at the High King lying on the ground. Then, Peach looked over to the left and saw the Princess of Hyrule in a red dress.

"They will pay," Princess Peach whispered sternly, "Dedede, Sonic, Kirby… They will all pay for this…"

Luigi looked around and said, "Princess, we have to go now."

Before leaving, Peach walked towards Zelda and picked up her jagged dagger. When she joined Luigi outside of the hall, they walked to the left, towards a staircase. The hallway was dark, only being lit by the large orange lights coming from outside the windows. Luigi opened the door to the staircase and stepped to the side, allowing Peach to enter first. After he closed the door, Luigi drew his sword and followed Peach down the stairs. They reached the bottom and stopped when they heard the footsteps of several soldiers. Luigi and Peach hid in the darkness of the staircase and waited.

"My Lord," they heard a Waddle Dee pant, "We still haven't found the bodies of the Hand, Princess Peach or the Lady of Dreamland."

"Keep searching," they heard Sonic say, "Kill them if you must. But, they absolutely cannot leave the city."

"Yes, my Lord."

After Sonic left, the Waddle Dee entered the staircase, only armed with a bloody spear. The moment that he entered the staircase, he was met by Luigi's sword. He quickly discarded of the Waddle Dee and went out into the hallway. Peach followed him and looked to the left, in the direction where Sonic headed. She took a step in that direction but was stopped when Luigi tugged her arm.

"We need to go to the other way; that's the way out of the city," Luigi advised.

Peach shook Luigi's arm off her and snapped, "The Lord who killed our King— _your brother_ — went this way—!"

Luigi interrupted her sorrowfully but with a tone that suggested he would not be convinced to stray off his path, "We can't go further into the city… If we do, we may kill him and get the revenge that you seek, but we'll die in the process. We can get revenge, and we will avenge Mario, but that's something we can't do right now."

"Luigi—!"

"Peach, we don't have the time to argue… Come on, let's get the hell out of here."

* * *

As Link struggled to return to the medical tent, he saw several soldiers sitting around a bonfire. They must have been getting ready to go to sleep since it was past midnight. Momentarily, Link decided to rest against one of the poles on the medical tent. As he rested and caught his breath, he looked over at the Toads and Hylians relaxing. He thought about going over there; it would give him something to do before his bedtime. As Link tried to recover some stamina to make the trek over, four Waddle Dees walked over to the bonfire.

"Evening, friend," a Hylian greeted them, "What's going on?"

The front-most Waddle Dee responded by thrusting his spear into the Hylian. And, soon after that, those soldiers around the bonfire had all fallen. The mob of Waddle Dees steadily increased in number as they traveled tent to tent, setting each one on fire. Link retreated into the medical tent, which was mostly empty. He ran, as fast as he could, to the backroom where he laid for the duration of his coma. There, next to his bed, were the Master Sword and his shield. Seeing that he had no time to put any armor on, Link grabbed his sword and shield and left the tent as fast as he came in.

When he was outside, Link witnessed the Dreamland forces pillaging the camp. Unfortunately, the Mushroom-Hylian troops did not stand a chance; nobody was prepared, at that time of night, to fight against an enemy who, not even an hour ago, fought at their side. Around one tent in particular, Link saw three Waddle Dees throw many Toad and Hylians, none of whom were wearing armor, onto the ground and execute them. Directly behind the mass execution, a Waddle Doo and Poppy Bro set the tent on fire. The blaze from that tent quickly spread to all the tents around it.

As Link snuck around the camp, struggling to move at all, he saw a Waddle Dee hand a freed Dark Pit two blades made of blue and silver steel. Dark Pit took them and joined the Dreamland forces. As they moved around another tent, a Hylian soldier was cut down quickly by Dark Pit. After Dark Pit shot a fleeing Toad, he turned and saw Link standing behind him, weakly holding his sword and shield.

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy this one," Dark Pit muttered. He approached Link, who tried to ready himself for a duel.

When Dark Pit came within ten feet of him, Link hid behind his shield and circled around, sizing Dark Pit up. Dark Pit shook his head and laughed, " _The Silent Knight_ , right? That's what _she_ used to call you? Well, _Silent Knight_ , let's see what you're made of."

With his last remark, Dark Pit charged at Link with two blades in his hands. He swung overhead with both blades, allowing Link to block the attack easily. However, Link had lost much of his quickness and strength since he woke up, so he could not counter. After Link pushed Dark Pit back with his shield, the dark angel attacked again, this time more quickly. He swung one of his blades down, knocking the Master Sword from Link's hand. Caught off-guard, Link was basically defenseless to Dark Pit's other sword; he absorbed a blow to the side, winding him. And, before he could recover, Dark Pit kicked Link in the jaw, sending him onto the ground. As quickly as he could, Link spun onto his chest and got up. Toying with him, Dark Pit backed off and allowed Link to pick up the Master Sword.

"What's wrong? Forget how to fight?" Dark Pit continued to taunt. Although his opponent could not speak, Dark Pit saw the anger grow in Link's blue eyes.

Link picked up his sword and changed the pace of their fight by charging. Easily, Dark Pit parried Link's slash and cut him across the chest, ripping a hole across Link's tunic. Once more, Dark Pit backed off as Link fell to a knee in pain. As Link grumbled on the ground visibly hurt, Dark Pit put his swords down.

"You're not even worth my time," he said, "I thought you were supposed to be some master swordsman, Link. I suppose I thought wrong."

As Dark Pit turned away, Link stood up and charged again. Anticipating another emotional charge, Dark Pit blocked and countered with little care. However, Link took advantage of Dark Pit's recklessness and knocked him in the side. His opponent staggered back from the blow, allowing Link to swing his shield across Dark Pit's face. Dark Pit staggered further backed, recovering with his second step. He turned and launched his arm downward, barely clipping Link's arm. Link was able to dodge Dark Pit's next swing and turn the tide of their skirmish by kicking Dark Pit's leg out from under him.

Acting quickly, Dark Pit rolled under Link's stab attempt and swung wildly. Link quickly moved his torso out of the way and smacked one of Dark Pit's blades from his hand. As it flew across their battlefield, Link backed off. He spun the Master Sword in his hand as Dark Pit shook out his.

"Your High King and Princess are _dead_ , Link," Dark Pit said, trying to razz the warrior, "They died tonight, at Luigi's wedding. It's a shame that you couldn't be there. Maybe if you were, your bitch Zelda wouldn't have had her throat slit—!"

Furious, Link attacked Dark Pit. After absorbing a knock to the leg, Dark Pit side-stepped and prepared to counter the stab attempt. However, Link swung his shield around, hitting Dark Pit directly in his stomach. Link overwhelmed Dark Pit by furiously swinging down at the dark angel. Eventually, Dark Pit had to hold his remaining blade up with both hands, blocking the furiously fast swings by Link. Soon after he put another hand on the blade, Link's swing sliced Dark Pit's blade directly in half. The velocity of the Master Sword took it all the way down, deep into Dark Pit's shoulder. Link kicked Dark Pit in the chest, launching him back onto the ground. As Dark Pit, no longer talking, flew back, the Master Sword smoothly slid out of his deep wound.

An exhausted, but adrenaline-filled Link looked at the camp; still, the Dreamland forces wreaked havoc on the Mushroom-Hylian forces. Hoping to make a difference and stop this great end on the front, Link took action.

* * *

The morning following the Wedding, Lord Kirby walked in the empty, burned courtyard of Peach's castle. The day was grey and dull, a perfect fit for the current mood of the province; sorrow, mourning and an unnerving feeling of anxiousness fell over the provinces of the Mushroom Lands and Hyrule. Kirby entered the castle, walked down the main corridor and entered the great hall, where only nine hours before the High King of the Smash met his maker. There were still small pockets of red puddles along the ground, but they were all being cleaned by (mostly) unwilling Toadettes and Waddle Dees. At the table that stood in the front of the hall, Dedede sat and ate his breakfast. Standing in front of him was Sonic, who still wore his armor.

"Years ago, before this whole mess began, the late Lady Zelda launched not one but two failed coups against me," Dedede commented with his face full of food, "Now look at where she is: six feet under along with _The High King of the Smash_ , his brother, the Lady of the Mushroom Lands, and the turncoat King's Guard, Samus Aran. Funny how life turns, isn't it, Lord of the Mushroom Lands and Hyrule?"

"It really is," Sonic commented, "Like you just said, I went from being a Lord of some land nobody cares about, to being the Lord of the two largest territories in the realm."

"My Lords," Kirby spoke up sorrowfully. The two turned to Kirby, who walked down the empty hall slowly, "The bodies of Luigi, Peach and Samus were not found in the city last night."

Dedede nodded and suggested, "Perhaps they were burned along with the rest of the Mushroom-Hylian army that was in the city… We wiped them all out last night, didn't we?"

"A force of two thousand escape, my Lord," Kirby said, refusing to look up at the other two, "We have no idea where they went…"

"Lord Kirby, what's wrong with you today?" Sonic asked, "You seem…"

"Remorseful? Regretful?" Lord Kirby finished, "My Lord Sonic, last night was by far the worse thing I had ever done in my entire life; those were my friends that were slaughtered last night, you know. Before the war, before Ganon's reign, _we were friends_ … And I orchestrated their demise, in one of the worst ways possible…"

"I'll have you remember, Lord Kirby, that you were sitting in on the Small Council meeting that created the idea of killing them at a wedding—you sent me a raven immediately after it," Dedede responded, "From the Butter Building Explosion to the Castle Town Accords, they were all your idea. Mario, Zelda, Peach, all of them were traitors to the realm, so they had to go. You know that, My Lord."

"It seemed so simple then," Kirby said, still shaken, "I didn't consider Bandana Dee, Mario, Zelda, Peach, Luigi, the countless Toads and Hylians… I didn't consider what must be sacrificed for the realm."

"Anyways," Sonic said, turning to Dedede, "I'm assuming that you're heading back to Dreamland after your breakfast?"

"Yes; there's no more war to fight," Dedede answered. He looked at the sad Lord and said, "My Lord, in return for your service to King Ganon and Dreamland, I'll commit the three thousand men that you were promised to your command. They will be ready for you by noon today."

Looking up from the ground, Kirby said, "But, I was promised seven."

Shrugging, Dedede replied, "We are just getting out of a war, Kirby. That's all we can spare for you. Now, eat up; you should get back to Smashville as soon as you can."

* * *

After taking Birabuto, King Marth set to use the fortress as his new base of operations. And, because it was in close proximity to Sarasaland, they would use it as their launching point for their invasion soon… Very soon. Marth walked in the courtyard as Ike and Ness talked by a wooden door. When the King joined them, the two bowed graciously and respectfully.

"Ness, my Commander says that you used to be apart of the Steel Foxes," Marth began.

Confused, Ness nodded, "Yes Your Grace, I used to be apart of the Steel Fox Brotherhood. Um, if you don't mind me asking… Why do you care?"

"On their way back to us, Ike and My Hand, Lucina, had an encounter with the Steel Foxes," Marth said, "Apparently, Lucina is so strange because, well, Ike says that she was killed in a fight for her freedom, but the Great Fairy brought her back."

"Oh…" Ness muttered, as if he remembered something, "...The Great Fairy resurrected her, did she?"

"To me, it seems like a far-fetched idea," the King explained, "Then, Ike informed me that Fox has brought you back as well… Many times, in fact."

Now understanding the reason he was being directly spoken to by the King, Ness straightened up and replied, "You see, Your Grace, Fox doesn't bring people back. After somebody has fallen, Fox prays to the Great Fairy. It is up to her to decide whether the fallen is worthy of having the gift of life again."

"That's exactly what I said," Ike interjected, "But, His Grace didn't believe me for some reason."

"You have to admit," the King interrupted his Commander, still doubting, "it's an absurd idea."

"If you let me speak my mind, Your Grace," Ness began with suggestion in his voice, "You have to understand that it does not work for anybody. I believe that the Great Fairy only brings back people that have a greater purpose in life."

"Then why did she bring you back more than once?" Marth asked, almost as if he were testing Ness' belief.

Unfazed by his attack, Ness responded clearly, "Oh, but I did have a greater purpose than the Steel Fox Brotherhood. Shortly after I was brought back for the second time, I joined a fight that actually matters; I came to fight for your claim. There's no greater honor than to die in the name of the King that you serve, I know that now."

"I see," the King nodded. He looked at Ike for approval and, when he was given it, he turned back to Ness, "Lucina could use some help… She's still shaken by the whole being dead thing… Do you mind helping us with her?"

"Of course I'll help," Ness nodded.

After he let Ness through the nearby door, Ike followed his King inside. There Lucina sat on a small cotton bed. The room was dark; the only source of light was a small window on the cobblestone walls which was above a small dark wooden desk. Lucina had not reacted when the three of them entered the room. Ness took a step back and observed Lucina as the King approached her with Ike at his side.

"Lucina, My Hand," Marth began gently, "Ness can help you… He knows what you've been through, what you've seen. He said that he'll help you get through it."

"What I've seen? My King, there was nothing… _Absolutely_ nothing…" Lucina muttered, seeming like she shook and quivered in fear with every word, "No light, no sound, no life… No anything… Only the shadows…"

"She's worse than I thought," Ness sighed, concerned. He slowly approached Lucina, who once again did not move from her spot. Because he was so short, Ness did not have to kneel next to Lucina's bed to be at eye-level with her. He touched her shoulder sympathetically and said, "It's okay, Lucina… I saw the shadows too. How long were you gone?"

"I don't know… It could've been seconds, minutes, hours, days… I have no idea…" Lucina muttered, still shaking on every word.

"Give us some space," Ness said to his King, "We'll talk it out…"

"Talk what out? There's nothing to talk about," Ike asked with an equal amount of concern and confusion.

Ness sighed and looked at Ike, "I'm wish I could tell you… I really do. But, I can't; you wouldn't understand…"


	16. The Wars to Come

Meta Knight was escorted to the chamber of the Small Council by two Koopas who wielded swords. When he entered the room along with his two escorts, Meta Knight noticed that most of the council was not there; in fact, he was the only member of the Small Council present. Confused, he looked over at his escorts, who stayed perfectly still with their swords in their hands. A few seconds later, King Ganon entered the room with a letter.

"Your Grace, what is this about?" Meta Knight asked with a slight yawn.

The King sat down in his chair calmly and dropped the letter in front of himself. He leaned back, relaxing in his chair and smiled, "My Lord, the High King of the Smash is dead."

"Yes, Your Grace," Meta Knight responded, "I know; Lord Kirby and I were in contact the day of the wedding. From my understanding, your plan worked flawlessly."

"High King Mario and Zelda are dead, but the Hand of the King, Peach, and the Lady of Dreamland are still at large," King Ganon told, "Once the _new_ Lord of the Mushroom Lands and Hyrule hunts them down, the war will officially be over."

Meta Knight quizzically looked at King Ganon. He walked over to his chair at the Council's table but did not sit down as he corrected the King, "One war will be over. But, we have yet to discuss the war still to come, Your Grace; on the other side of the world, Marth prepares an army which includes many of the former Smash Brothers—"

"There's no need to be over-dramatic, My Lord," King Ganon interrupted still relaxed, "The new False King resides across an _ocean_ , not on the other side of the world. Moreover, to call his _supporters_ an army is less-than-brilliant. They number less than twenty thousand, compared to the seventy-five thousand that we have."

"We have no intelligence with regards to Marth's army," Meta Knight rebutted.

The King shrugged and shook out his shoulders momentarily, "Does it really matter? My main point is this: even though we both know that there are spies _close to the crown_ , Marth and his supporters stand no chance against Sarasaland, let alone us."

The backhand threat struck Meta Knight with confusion and a little anxiety. However, he hid all of that behind his mask. Before he left, he replied, "I fear that your ignorance will lead to your downfall, Your Grace"

* * *

King Marth walked across the courtyard of the Birabuto Fortress. Directly to his left was part of his council: Ike, Roy, Robin and Lucario. The lone Pokemon of the group was still recovering from the battle, evident from his lethargic behavior and the massive white bandage wrapped around his torso. Marth joined the semi-council just as the sun became hidden behind a few small clouds. As always, when the King reached his council, they bowed.

"Lucario, how are you doing?" the King asked once they all rose.

With a very tired shake of his shoulders, Lucario answered, "I'm surviving… Those Sarasa-steel tipped arrows are deadly… I don't know how the hell I'm still alive."

While Lucario leaned back onto a wooden pole slowly, Ike handed the King a letter, "It's from our Little Bird."

"There was a wedding in the north of the Realm, Your Majesty," Robin followed up, "Luigi, Hand of High King Mario, and Samus, the Lady of Dreamland, were to be wed in Mushroom City."

"Yes, yes. I know all of that; I read our Little Bird's last letter," the King responded, "What's in this letter? The description of the venue? Or is it about one of the many drunken toasts made in honor of the two newlyweds, who, by the way, I would have never imagine being man and wife—"

Roy interrupted with a low, sad voice, "Well, Your Grace, it was nothing like that… During the reception, the forces of Dreamland turned on the Hylians and Toads… They killed Mario, Zelda, Luigi, Peach, and Samus. After that, they sacked Mushroom City and, well…"

"High King Mario's rebellion is over, Your Majesty," Robin finished in a sombre tone.

This news surprised the King; the High King of the Smash, whom Marth thought was going to win the war in the Realm, was slain at a wedding with his entire Council. Death is death, and killing was nothing new to Marth, but a massacre of this scale at a wedding, of all places, was something unheard of. The King did not speak, but his Council could tell that he was in shock by the look on his face.

After a few more moments of silence, Ike asked, "My King, are you okay?"

"Me? I'm fine, it's just…" the King stammered, still trying to break through his bewilderment, "I mean… Mario, Zelda, Peach, Luigi, Samus were all killed in one night _at a wedding_? Who is behind this?"

"Kirby, the Lord of Green Greens, Your Majesty," Robin answered in a hushed tone, "He sat on the council of King Ganon in secret; according to our Little Bird, everything he did was in your name."

"My name!? Why would he kill people whom I used to be friends with _in my name_!?" the King exclaimed back, baffled.

Ike and Roy shrugged and looked down. Robin, who noticed that they would not answer, decided to answer the King again, "Well Your Grace, if you'd let me speak freely, Kirby did us a favor. The fight against Ganon's regime will be an easier fight than a fight against Mario's. Once we take Sarasaland, our troops will have experience against a formidable enemy. We will blow through Ganon's army. However, if we were to fight Mario's army instead, we'd have another long fight against a very dangerous enemy."

"Still…" the King muttered, "I can't imagine what that would have looked like…"

Several more seconds of silence later, Roy cleared his throat and said, "Your Grace, Ike and I have been discussing the events in Sarasaland. We think that you should send a mole into Sarasaville and start a smearing campaign against the Flower Princess."

"Why should we start a smearing campaign against Princess Daisy?" the King asked solemnly, obvious still shaken from the news of the wedding.

"It would turn her most loyal subjects against her," Roy explained, "She doesn't have support from a large portion of the population as is. If we were to smear her image and reputation further, the Sarasa war effort would implode in on itself."

"Who would we send in?" the King asked, somewhat agreeing to the idea, "The Flower Princess knows all of our faces. She spotted Ike and Lucina easily, so she'd know you and me, Roy…"

"What about me, Your Grace?" Robin asked, "I'll leave as soon as I can. It won't matter if I'm in the city by the time you siege it. If anything, it would help."

"Yes, it would…" Marth said as he was in a moment of deep thought. A few seconds later, the King continued, "Robin, you will have to leave as soon as you can. We'll launch our attack on Sarasaville within the next fortnight."

* * *

Both Luigi and Peach were able to meet up with Samus outside the gates of Mushroom City. Along with them, two thousand Toad and Hylian soldiers were able to escape the city. However, even though they were alive, they had nowhere to go; because Sonic was now the Lord of the Mushroom Lands and Hyrule, they all were a threat to his claim to the north and central of the Realm. Luigi knew that, once things calmed down inside the Mushroom Lands, they would be pursued relentlessly by Sonic. For now, they followed the road south, towards Hyrule.

Luigi sighed and looked to his left. There, he saw Peach clutching a jagged dagger in her hand, her eyes staring into nothing. To his right was Samus, who had a scar of the wound to her neck. He had been told that the arrow pierced her neck but did not penetrate any large blood vessels or her throat. As Luigi looked at the red scar, Samus asked, "Where are we going?"

"South," Luigi answered, turning his head back to the road ahead, "How far south, I don't know. Maybe we can get to Link."

"Get to Link? He's all the way in the Gerudo Valley," Samus sighed, "We'd be lucky if he's even alive."

"We need to go back," Peach suddenly interjected, restoring her gaze to Luigi, "This is our home, Luigi; the _monster_ who killed our King now rules this land, and you wish to do nothing about it—"

"We can't do anything about it right now, Your Majesty," Luigi told her, "If we go back to Mushroom City and attack, we're signing our own death wish; Sonic has twenty thousand in that city alone, with thousands of more in reserves. That doesn't even include the Dreamland army nor the Gerudos."

Peach stopped walking, causing all the soldiers behind her to stop. Confused and annoyed by Luigi, she said "Luigi, we have an army—"

"Our army is gone, Peach!" Luigi snapped, stopping in his tracks both frustrated and sad, "The fifty thousand troops we had are dead! Princess Zelda is dead! Our King, _my own brother_ , is dead! It's all gone! We are the last hope for the Mushroom Kingdom and Hyrule, and _you_ want to throw it all away in a desperate attempt to get revenge!"

"Well, what should we do?" Peach asked, becoming slightly timid.

Luigi spiked down to a knee as his eyes started to water. It was not until now that he realized it; although he was there and witnessed it, he could not show his emotion because, well, there were other things to do. He had no time to cry nor mourn while they were inside the city trying to escape the sacking. Instead, it all built up and now seemed to explode on the road towards Hyrule, "... I don't know," Luigi muttered, holding back his tears as best as he could, "If we go north, we're dead… Our only hope is to go south."

"Okay… Then what…?"

"...Pray that Link's still alive."

* * *

After almost a year away from the Capital City, Kirby returned to Smashville. This time, Kirby arrived his army of three thousand troops and as a Lord. It had taken him a few weeks to travel down to Smashville from Mushroom City, but he finally arrived. He walked into the city alongside a Waddle Dee who wielded a spear and a shield with a star. Just like his last time in Smashville, Meta Knight waited for him in the middle of a busy street, ignoring everyone trying to pass him. As Kirby approached Meta Knight, he saw a blond man next to him. The man wore white with a single guard over his right shoulder, a white cape and a giant broadsword on his back. The closer Kirby got to Meta Knight, the more he recognized various features on the man's triangular face.

"Lord Kirby, welcome back," Meta Knight greeted, tugging his cape so it fit tighter around his body, "Congratulations on your successful plan."

Kirby looked down in shame, "I don't deserve to be congratulating for what's been done," he brought his gaze back up and looked at the person with Meta Knight, "Who's your friend, Meta Knight?"

"He's not my friend," Meta Knight responded, "Don't you remember him from the Mansion? He's Cloud Strife."

Kirby's face relaxed, as he now remembered whom the man was. He straightened back up and said, "To be fair, he wasn't at the Smash Mansion for long before King Ganon took over," he turned to Cloud, "How did you end up in Smashville, and why didn't I see you before?"

"I was traveling," Cloud said plainly and mysteriously, "I spent most of last year in the Badlands. When I arrived in the Capital, Meta Knight recruited me to the King's Guard. During my training, he took me under his wing."

Kirby chuckled when he heard Cloud's tone, "I see that he taught you well; you speak just like him now."

Cloud cracked a slight smile and shook his head, looking down at the ground. Meta Knight turned to walk down the street. Kirby dismissed the Waddle Dee at his side and joined the other two's walk. As the walked about the sandy street, Meta Knight warned, "King Ganon knows of the spies in Smashville, Kirby; he's incredibly suspicious of me."

Surprised, Kirby whispered, "You want to discuss this in front of Cloud? Are you mad? He's a member of the King's Guard!"

"Meta Knight is the Lord-Commander of the King's Guard, Lord Kirby," Cloud said, not looking down, "Honor compels me to protect an evil king, but it also compels me to protect my friends and their secrets."

More confused, Kirby turned to Meta Knight, "I thought you said that Cloud isn't your friend?"

Meta Knight scoffed, "We're friends when it's convenient, My Lord. Now, like I was saying before, King Ganon is suspicious. And, when the King is suspicious, he tends to act impulsively… More than he does already."

"Is this a warning?" Kirby asked.

"Of sorts," Meta Knight answered as they so the castle's sand-colored gates ahead of them, "You're lucky, however; the King completely trusts you after the wedding."

"How you conceived an idea of both absolute wickedness and brilliance is beyond me," Cloud commented as the gates opened.

The three stepped inside the gates and walked through the courtyard. Their path, made of sandstone bricks, cut directly through a green yard and led directly into the castle, also made of sandstone bricks. The castle had not changed since Kirby last stayed there, but it seemed different this time; much had happened since the days when Kirby sat on the small council, from the multi-week Siege of the Gerudo Border, the Explosion of Butter Building, the Castle Town Accords, the Wedding…

They pushed through the door and were inside the great hall, where the throne sat atop many steps across the room. Inside the room was Rosalina, who seemed to be waiting for them. Rosalina turned away from the throne when she the trio enter the room. When she saw Kirby, she grinned sweetly and nodded, "My Lord, it's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too, Your Majesty," Kirby said, bowing. He straightened up and faced the throne. As he looked at it with both admiration and scorn, Meta Knight gave a letter to Rosalina.

"Same destination?" Rosalina asked.

"Yes," Meta Knight said, "I'm counting on you to get this one out of the city without our King noticing."

"As you always do, My Lord," Rosalina remarked before leaving the room via the steps to the left of the throne.

When she was gone, Meta Knight walked up to Kirby, who still looked at the throne, "Come on, Lord Kirby. We'll show you to your room."


	17. The Letter

In the morning, Rosalina sat down in front of a dresser with a mirror on top of it. She was doing her makeup in preparation for the day ahead of her. After she finished her foundation, she put the container on the dresser and studied her face. As she made sure that she was done, the door to the room burst open wildly. Startled, she spun around and saw her husband enter the room. Both his hands were clinched, and, in his left fist, there was a letter. King Ganon approached his Queen-to-be with each step becoming progressively more thunderous and angry. Rosalina was used to seeing the King's fits of rage, but never this early in the morning.

Rosalina stood up in her baby blue nightgown as the King opened the crumbled and slightly ripped letter. He asked with heat in his voice, "Why was a letter addressed to the new False King found on one of your ravens leaving the Capital?"

Rosalina looked down, initially too intimidated to say anything. With regards to her silence, King Ganon slammed the letter on the dresser. The impact of his hand shook Rosalina; she tried to hide her fear by looking down, but she failed too. "Answer me, Rosalina! I am your King!"

"It's seems so simple to you," Rosalina responded, still not looking at the King, "There are spies in Smashville, ones close to the Crown too. You must think that I'm one of them, but it's much more complicated than that, Your Grace."

"If it's more complicated than that, whose letter is it?" King Ganon replied, almost snarling in Rosalina's face.

"…If I tell you, Your Grace, they'll kill me," Rosalina responded weakly, thinking on her feet.

The King grunted, "If you don't tell me, I will kill you."

She did not have much time to think this one through now; she saw the King cautiously grip the hilt of his dagger. Fearing for her life now, Rosalina shouted, with a cry, "It's Meta Knight, okay!? Meta Knight is the spy! He…" now caught in a difficult situation, Rosalina had to anxiously cover herself, "He threatened my life if I told anyone, Your Grace… I'm sorry I couldn't tell you earlier… I was so scared…"

"I should've known," King Ganon muttered angrily. He looked at Rosalina, who seemed to be tearing up, "I'm sorry about my harshness, my Queen. I shouldn't've been like that to you."

Before he left, he looked back at Rosalina, who slumped in the chair that she sat in before, and vowed, "He will pay for making you do this. Mark my words."

* * *

"If the Great Fairy only brings certain people back, then why did she choose to bring me back?" Lucina asked Ness, who sat on the edge of her bed.

Ness looked around the small, dark room. Lucina could tell that he was trying his best to think of an answer; he knew why he was brought back to life twice. In their many conversations, he told her that his purpose in life was to serve King Marth. Lucina's purpose must be the same. Yet, she had already served Marth, and served him well, by the time of her death. In her point-of-view, if that was her ultimate purpose to live, why did her life not end when her service did?

"I can't say," Ness explained, "You have served on the King's Council, even been his Hand for so long. Clearly, the Great Fairy believes that you must have something greater in your destiny."

"The only thing greater than being the Hand of the King is being the King," Lucina thought aloud as she straightened her back while lying on her bed.

Ness shrugged, "Perhaps that what the Great Fairy believes in."

Quickly, Lucina sat up and asked, "You think that the Great Fairy believes that I should be the King?"

"…or Queen," Ness said with a tone of suggestion.

In response, Lucina shook her head, "I can't be Queen. Even if I did like Marth like that, he needs to be available for marriage. You know, for alliance purposes."

"Maybe not through marriage," Ness continued down his train of thought, "It is possible that you can be his heir. After all, Marth has no children."

Before their conversation could continue, the door creaked open and the sunlight suddenly poured into part of the dark room. The King stepped inside with the light and said, "Pardon the interruption. I just wanted to see how things are going."

"Better," Lucina nodded. As Marth bowed his head to excuse himself, Lucina said, "Wait. I'll walk out with you."

A minute later, Lucina walked out of the room alongside Ness and the King in her armor. She saw that, in the main courtyard of Birabuto, Ike and Roy stood watching many different soldiers sparring. And, when Shulk downed a slow Lucario, Ike and Roy turned around, laughing. As they laughed and walked, they saw Lucina for the first time since she returned.

"Lucina. It's good to see you," Roy said, incredibly surprised.

Lucina nodded and stayed silent. However, as soon as she turned her attention to Ike, she was met by a hug. It took her a second to notice that it was Ike who initiated a prolonged hug, and, the moment she realized it, she hugged him back. "I'm so glad you're okay…" Ike whispered warmly.

When they let go, the King sighed and turned to the south-most wall in the courtyard, "I hope you're ready to fight, Lucina."

"Why so, Your Grace?" she asked, slightly confused.

King Marth shrugged, "Because we siege Sarasaville in the coming days."

* * *

After crossing dangerously close to Lon Lon Ranch, Luigi, Peach and Samus decided to set up camp about twenty miles south of the Ranch. The further they traveled south, the safer Luigi felt they were. However, any further south would be endangering their small garrison again; the further south they traveled, the closer to the Gerudo Valley they were. And the closer to the Valley they were, they more Gerudo and Koopa soldiers there were. It seemed like this place in Hyrule Field was a safe spot for the night, and maybe a few nights more.

Luigi sat in front of a campfire, trying to warm his hands in the dead of the night. He was entirely surrounded by starving Toads and Hylians, who were also dirty from their trek so far. As they seemed to fester in their own filth, Samus and Peach sat further away, near the back of their camp. In the area where Peach and Samus sat, they had their backs to a large cliff and faced Luigi, who was far enough from them to be oblivious to anything the two could say. Samus looked at Luigi quizzically while Peach stared into the fire, still relieving the moment where those awful words were uttered.

 _Your reign is over, False King._

"Your Majesty, what makes Luigi revert back to his love for Daisy?" Samus inquired, still looking at the green plumber.

The moment the blade pierced the High King's heart was the moment Peach snapped out of her nightmarish vision. She shrugged, slowly coming back to reality and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't hear your question."

Sad, and perhaps slightly jealous, Samus sighed, "I just asked about Daisy and Luigi… What keeps him from move on? Why does he always go back to her?"

"Well, you need to understand what Daisy means to Luigi. Both you and I know Luigi; he's a nice guy, kind of cute too, but he's always lived in his brother's shadow. So, he'd always be lonely and unappreciated after a long adventure. Then, enter Daisy, The Flower Princess. She was the first girl to give him any real attention…"

"So, she was his first love?" Samus asked, now looking at Peach.

"Yeah. They were together for years. Hell, he even lived in Sarasaland for a little bit when he was younger. But, that was so long ago," Peach sighed, seemingly recalling a tragic incident. Noticing that Peach was not telling her something, Samus was about to speak up. However, with another heavy sigh, Peach told her, "In the two years that he lived in over in Sarasa, they had a child together… An illegitimate child, however."

"Luigi has a kid—!?" shouted Samus immediately.

Reacting quickly, Peach hushed her down. "A kid he never met," Peach corrected, "After The Flower King found out, he banished Luigi from Sarasaland. That's why Daisy spent all of her time in the Mushroom Kingdom until her father's death. When she became the monarch of Sarasaland, she was back and forth between her home and the Mushroom Kingdom."

Still surprised, Samus asked, this time much more quietly, "Where's the child now?"

"That's the one thing Daisy won't tell me," Peach sighed, "Anytime I try to even reference the child, Daisy becomes extremely defensive and just stops talking. I'll admit it, sometimes I only mention her name to get Daisy to shut her mouth—"

" _Her_ name? What is her name?"

Peach sighed and looked back at the fire, "I promised Luigi that I'd never tell anybody, not even Mario. But, because you are technically his wife still, I suppose you deserve to know; the only name Daisy has ever given me is Lauren."

Samus watched Luigi slowly warm his hands as a Toad and a Hylian slumped on both of his shoulders, sound asleep. Samus grinned slightly, " Lauren… That's a nice name."

"A name she does not use anymore," Peach responded, "Daisy said that she goes by something else now. So, even if Luigi was interested in finding her, it'd be nearly impossible to."

"That's a shame…"

In the morning, they continued on their path south. And, unlike the day before, which was incredibly sunny and hot, the cold weather from the night carried into the day. In addition to the cold, it was also pouring rain. Luigi, Peach and Samus all rode horses, who walked slowly along the road. It seemed that the horses themselves represented the feel of the garrison; cold, wet and exhausted. Luigi did not know when they would stop, or if they would ever stop. Planning for that was planning too far into an uncertain future; at any point on any given day, they could be ambushed and, most likely, finished off.

As Luigi's eyes became heavy, he noticed a figure approaching them. Luigi could not tell who it was; it could have been a Toad, Hylian, Koopa, Gerudo, adventurer, merchant, even King Ganon for all Luigi cared. It was not until he heard Peach curse in astonishment when Luigi straightened up and focused his vision; it was Link wearing a tunic covered in mud, wet sand, and blood. Absolutely shocked, Luigi hopped off his horse and hugged Link. Link hugged him back and collapsed onto Luigi in exhaustion. By the time Peach and Samus got to Link, the two men let go of each other, and Link came back to balance.

"Oh my… How are you still alive?" Peach asked, looking at Link's current condition.

The warrior did not say anything, but he lifted his arms, showing the blood stained on his sleeves and chest. And, when Luigi looked closer at Link, he saw dried blood on his face. However, it was not his blood but somebody else's. "Is there anybody left?" Luigi asked. He knew the painful truth already, but he still had to ask. And, when Link shook his head, Luigi sighed as his worst fears came true; they were the last of the Rebellion.

"Well, now what?" Samus asked, leaning on her horse, "We've found Link and journeyed as far south as we should. Is there anything else left for us to do?"

Out of ideas, Luigi sighed and looked over at Peach. It was the first time he saw that she was carrying Mario's hat. It must have been in one of her small bags, because she did not have it before (at least not in front of Luigi). Although he only studied the hat for a few seconds, Luigi's mind went from drawing blanks to racing. They were at the end of the road; in every direction, there were enemies. Running away only delayed the inevitable, Luigi thought. Now, on a rainy morning somewhere in the southeast of Hyrule, Luigi realized their only option.

"We have to ride north," Luigi said solemnly as he watched Peach hold Mario's hat in her hands and squeeze, as if to bring any life it may have out of it, "We can maybe some villages, maybe some small towns, together and fight. We have no other choice."

* * *

As Kirby took a walk through one of the many gardens in King Ganon's castle alongside Meta Knight, they saw Cloud standing next to a patch of bush with many different flowers on it. Kirby stopped Meta Knight from speaking further and nodded towards the King's Guard. And, as Meta Knight approached Cloud, Kirby followed closely behind. When the two got to him, Cloud turned to face them. Just as he turned, some sunlight bounced off his shiny shoulder guard and hit Kirby directly in the eye. Kirby flopped back briefly, closing and covering his eyes.

"I've never seen you in the Gardens before, Cloud," Meta Knight greeted.

"Well, Lord Mewtwo wanted to visit here, My Lord," Cloud told him, "I was just told to guard him. In fact, he's right behind you two now."

Meta Knight turned around and saw Mewtwo conversing with Lord Bowser. Probably, Meta Knight thought, it was about how they led the Gerudo-Koopa forces to victory. Lord Bowser, and Mewtwo to an extent, was hardened and cold on the surface. But, Meta Knight and Kirby knew that both Lords were not as they seemed to be; both were arrogant, slightly on the unintelligent side, incompetent…

Kirby came back to his senses and noticed something behind Cloud. Coming up directly behind the King's Guard member was the King himself along with five or so King's Guard members. They all marched in, their steps stomping like thunder, approaching Meta Knight, Cloud and Kirby. When they reached the three of them, King Ganon swiftly and promptly announced, "Meta Knight, Lord-Commander of the King's Guard, you are under arrest for High Treason against the Crown. I hereby revoke your Lordship and your titles—"

"You have no evidence for your claims, Your Grace!" Meta Knight exclaimed as Kirby backed away in shock. The King's Guard members encircled Meta Knight slowly, gripping the handles of their weapons. When Cloud took a step to intervene, Meta Knight stuck out his hand to stop him, "Stay out of this, Cloud."

"I have the testimony of the Queen," King Ganon responded, "She said that you threatened her life in order to use her ravens to communicate with the False King, Marth. Don't fight it, Meta Knight; we've caught you red-handed."

"Rosalina sold him out…?" Kirby muttered, frozen in astonishment.

"Fine; have it your way, Your Grace," Meta Knight said, raising both his hands, "I surrender. Take me to the dungeon. Go on with it."

"Do you confess?" King Ganon asked as the King's Guard easily apprehended the surrendered Meta Knight.

"Confess? You are deranged, Your Grace," Meta Knight denied flatly, "I will not confess to a crime, which I am innocent of, without a trial."

"Okay, we will have a trial," King Ganon spat back, "And after the trial, I'll execute you myself."

* * *

A few hours after he entered Sarasaville, Robin walked around the main market area that stood in front of the castle. The sandy road was covered with many small shops, with what looked like apartment-style houses on the top. Hanging from some of the windows were various vines and plants, making each building look like a hanging garden. Robin stood in awe for a few moments, until he heard somebody calling for someone behind him. It sounded like they were calling for a Senator. It was not until he heard the name Senator Ramsay that he remembered something; he had killed a wealthy-looking fellow upon his arrival in order to get a disguise. That man must have been this Senator Ramsay. And, apparently, Robin looked just like him. When Robin turned around, he saw a teenage girl, must have been sixteen, in similar white clothing. She was barefoot, and, because she had no shoes on, her feet were dirty. Quickly, Robin noticed that her brown hair was straight down, and her blue eyes sparkled like diamonds. He swore to himself that her eyes looked identical to somebody else he knew, but he could not think of who. In addition to her familiar eyes, her face struck him with the same familiarity.

"Do I know you?" Robin asked curiously.

"Of course you do, Senator," the girl responded, blankly. Again, her voice sounded familiar, but with a higher pitch than the voice Robin knew. She chuckled lightly, "Perhaps you've forgotten already. I'm Lilah Bluebell? We met during your first Senate meeting a few days ago."

Playing along, Robin acted as if he just remembered (and felt dreadfully sorry that he forgot), "Oh! I'm sorry, Lilah. I've met so many people in the last few days."

"There's nothing to forgive, Senator," Lilah quickly dismissed with a smile, "Come on; let's get to that meeting."

Robin followed Lilah down the street, through the market and towards the Princess' castle. Near the castle was a large, white building made from sandstone and finished with polished marble. They entered inside, and Robin saw the Senate of Sarasaland; there were seats in a half-bowl around a circular area with a throne that faced the semi-bowl. Most of the Senate were already there, and The Flower Princess sat in the throne patiently. After Lilah took her seat in the middle-right, Robin sat down next to her.

"It's unbelievable, isn't it?" Lilah whispered to Robin as Daisy looked at her nails, waiting for the other Senators to arrive, "The Senate votes for one thing, and the monarch does the exact opposite."

Having no idea of what she was talking about, Robin nodded in blind-agreement, "Yeah, unbelievable…"

"We've lost more men fighting this war with Marth than we ever have," Lilah sighed, shaking her head, "And we've only been fighting him for how long again? Nine months?"

"Ten months next Friday," Robin corrected, remembering the first Sarasa ambush.

"Exactly! You see my point," Lilah replied, "If Princess Daisy knew what was good for her, and Sarasa as a whole, she would've allied with Marth long ago. She has no idea how many enemies she's made in this Senate, let alone the entire continent."


	18. Let Him Stew

Clad in his green cap, Kirby walked down a large, spiraling staircase a few days after Meta Knight's arrest. In those days, Kirby asked Cloud to use his ravens to send a letter across the Orange Ocean. Kirby wished to tell King Marth of the current events in Smashville and to stop sending letters until further notice. When Kirby reached the bottom of the sandstone staircase, he saw a Gerudo in the prototypical King's Guard armor. Because of Kirby's status as a Lord and War Hero, the Gerudo did not say anything when he went inside the dungeon. The door closed itself behind Kirby as he looked around the small room that was only lit by torches. He saw three cells, all with only one steel door. When he saw two guards by one of the doors, he knew which cell Meta Knight stayed in. Quickly, Kirby walked towards the door and took a torch from the wall. Turning to the guards, Kirby said, "I want some alone time with the prisoner."

"Yes, My Lord," one of the guards nodded respectfully. They opened the door for Kirby and closed it behind him.

In the cell, Kirby saw Meta Knight, completely stripped of all his armor. He sat on a haystack with his purple shoes in the air. When the door closed, Meta Knight looked up and saw Kirby, who, probably for the first time, wore more clothes than he did. The prisoner stood up and asked, "What do you want?"

"King Ganon plans for the trial to take place in the coming days," Kirby told, placing the torch on the pillar across from the bed, "He's making me testify against you."

Meta Knight drew back slightly, "And what is he threatening you with?"

"If I don't do as Ganon wishes," Kirby began regretfully, "he'll take away my Lordship, all my titles, and he'll take the lives of everybody in Green Greens. And, considering his history, I think he means to follow through with his promises if I decide to go against the Crown. I'm sorry it had to be like this."

"Don't be," Meta Knight responded quickly, "What are you sorry for? King Ganon's unwillingness to be just isn't your fault; he pursues my death on two testimonies. Testimonies that, had threats not been made, would not even exist."

A second of silence later, Kirby told him, "I had Cloud send a raven to Sarasa. If you're being prosecuted for High Treason, our King should know."

"Tell him to write to you now," Meta Knight said quietly, "I don't think that I'll be around much longer. If, by some miracle of God, I am proven innocent, Ganon will have me killed regardless. Whether it's an official execution or an assassin, I don't think I'll be around when our King invades."

* * *

"I don't know how you are so blind to this, Princess!" a Senator yelled, standing up from his seat in the back of the half-bowl, "If we concede to Marth and his army, thousands of Sarasa lives will be spared. If we don't—"

"Then what will happen, Senator?!" Princess Daisy spat back as she stood in front of her throne. Now, facing the fuller part of the Senate, "I'll tell you what happens if we surrender; Marth and his army will lay waste to the city! Your plan that will saves thousands will kill millions."

In the seat next to Robin, Lilah stood up. Robin turned his attention away from the frustrated Flower Princess and looked up and to his left as Lilah began, "Your Majesty, the Senate already voted to pull out of the war tenfold. Your stubbornness to comply with the Senate goes against our democracy—!"

"Sarasaland isn't a Republic, Lilah," Daisy interrupted quickly, "The Senate can vote on matters, but the Crown _always_ has the final say. Do you fail to see that Marth is the enemy?"

"The enemy of who? A dead King on the other side of the world?" Lilah challenged. To Robin, it seemed that, anytime Lilah spoke with that loud, passionate voice, Daisy lost more support from the Senate, "This war against Marth has devastated our economy and our people. We need to pull out before it's too late. Marth's forces are stationed in Birabuto, Your Majesty. If they wanted to, they could begin an attack on Sarasaville in three days."

Daisy sighed and looked at Robin, who still had his attention on Lilah. She nodded her head slightly towards him and asked, "Senator Ramsay, what do you think? You've been awfully quiet today."

Slowly, Lilah looked down at Robin, patiently waiting for a response with the rest of the room. Robin stood up slowly and looked at the room. When he looked Lilah in the eyes, he noted to himself that he knew them from somewhere. Quickly, he looked at Daisy and said, "With all due respect, Your Majesty, I agree with Senator Lilah; it would be more beneficial for Sarasaland to surrender. The High King is dead, his rebellion is over; we had no reason for fighting in the first place, and we definitely don't have one now."

"High King Mario's death is the exact reason why we need to keep fighting," Daisy contradicted, "We are the last hope for the Realm of Smash; if we pull out now, we've doomed the Realm and ourselves."

"This is ridiculous…" Lilah muttered under her breath as the meeting became adjourned. She stood up and walked towards the exit. Closely following behind, Robin caught up with her as she left the building and walked down the sandy road, "Our Princess has gone mad; by choosing not to acknowledge the Senate, she's made herself a dictator! All because of some idiot rebels in the Mushroom Kingdom!"

"Well, what do we do about it?" Robin asked as Lilah stopped in the middle of the busy street, seemingly thinking hard about something.

"Don't worry about it," Lilah said mysteriously, as if to warn him, "I… I'll see you later, Ramsay…"

* * *

After a week of traveling north, they reached Northeast Hyrule, just on the border of Hyrule, the Mushroom Lands and the Badlands. Although they were received warmly, Luigi knew that the appointed leaders the village would be a hard-sell to commit men to their cause. At least, Luigi thought, Mushroom City was on the other side of the country and they would have shelter for a maybe a week, ten days at a push.

Luigi pursued the village elder with a crisp walk on the damp, cold afternoon that was misleadingly sunny. The elderly Toad walked along the dirt path, trying his best to ignore Luigi. However, knowing the leader of the village was trying to block him out, Luigi spoke louder, "Sir, you must listen to me; the only way for this country to be safe again is to fight! And to put up a winning fight, we need more numbers!"

"I committed all the men I could to your brother's cause," the Village Elder interrupted, turning around to face Luigi, "and all of them were slaughtered in Mushroom City during your wedding. There is new blood in the Mushroom Lands, My Lord-Hand. I am not sending men to their deaths again. You may stay here for a few more nights, but if you stay here long, Lord Sonic will surely come and destroy my village."

"Mushroom City is on the West Coast, near Dinosaur Island. Lord Sonic isn't going to come across the country just to destroy a village—"

"You haven't been in the Mushroom Lands for the opening months of Lord Sonic's rule," the Toad warned. His tone told Luigi to step back and give the Elder some space, "Villages as big as mine, even whole towns, have been raided and destroyed because the Lord had a suspicion. I've seen the carnage. I do not intend for that to happen to us because of you."

The Village Elder continued to walk away. This time, however, Luigi did not follow him. He sighed and turned around towards the tree line behind the village, walking towards the mini-camp that his few thousand set up. Near the camp was a small house that what was left of the High King's council used as shelter. When Luigi entered the house, he saw Link, Peach and Samus sitting around a wooden table. They all looked towards Luigi, who sighed heavily upon his arrival, "We'll have shelter for a few days, but we must leave immediately after."

"Did you get him to commit troops?" Peach asked.

"We arrived here with two thousand, and we'll leave with two thousand," Luigi sighed as he sat down, "At least our men are no longer starving."

"That's the fourth village in a row…" Peach shook her head, "Do they not want to fight for their homeland?"

"They don't want to die for nothing," Luigi explained, "Lord Sonic has twenty thousand… That's ten times our forces. There's no way that we can win that fight, and there's no way anybody will want to help us if they know the odds that are stacked against us."

"We have to keep moving north then," Peach suggested, "The further north we go, the more loyal the residents become; the Toads and Toadettes near Sherbert Land will fight for us."

"Best case scenario, we get four thousand and are still outnumbered three-to-one," Luigi responded, still thinking."

"That's four thousand more than we have right now," Peach smiled, "Besides, three-to-one odds are good odds for any Toad or Hylian."

"Where should we go next?" Samus asked.

"Toads and Hylians…" pondered Luigi with a slow stroke of his chin, "How about you and Link handle Villages in Northeast Hyrule," Luigi thought as he talked, "Peach and I will head north, towards Sherbert Land. We can meet just south of here, near Zora's Domain, in a couple of weeks."

"Then what?" asked Samus.

"We'll go from there," Luigi answered, "We have to take this slow; things will be restored to how they should be in the Mushroom Kingdom, just not right now."

* * *

A few hours after sending a raven, Robin's letter arrived in Birabuto. Roy retrieved it and ran down the steps of the tower. After he returned to the ground level of the fortress, he ran across the courtyard and burst into a room. Inside the room, Ike, Lucina, Lucario and Marth sat around a table, studying a map of the land from Birabuto to Sarasaville. Panting, Roy shut the door behind him and walked to the table. His sudden entrance had interrupted their conversation about how to siege a city as big as Sarasaland's capital. When Roy sat down at the table, he tossed the letter into it and leaned back, resting. Marth took the letter and quickly opened it. The others in the room gave him a minute to read and process it; the only sounds in the room were Roy's heavy breaths.

After he finished reading it, the King looked at the rest of his council, "No smearing campaign is needed; the people and the Senate are already against her."

"Because of the war?" Ike asked.

"Yes," Marth answered as he dropped the letter, "He says that he befriended a Senator named Delilah Bluebell."

Lucario almost scoffed at the name, "That sounds like a fake name."

"According to his letter, she mistaken him for a _Senator Ramsay_ , and he spent their Senate Meeting listening to the Senate attack Princess Daisy for "ignoring the vote to surrender"," Marth explained, "This _Delilah Bluebell_ , Lilah for short, is a bastard," at this point, Marth picked the letter back up and read certain excerpts, "raised in one of the orphanages sponsored by Daisy. She was appointed to the Senate via her guardian's will and has since become one of the most likeable Senators in Sarasaland… All before her seventeenth birthday."

While Lucario and Ike nodded, Roy panted, "For just meeting this Lilah-girl, Robin sure knows her well."

The King shrugged and read a sentence off the letter, " _She's a talker_ , apparently."

"Well, because of the current state of the country, I think we should attack and the next available opportunity," Lucina suggested, "It sounds like an attack on the city would cause Sarasaland to implode. The rift and problems have created a chance to light a fuse inside Sarasaville."

"Yes, we will," King Marth nodded, looking back at the map, "We'll start by breaking their spirits and moral by hitting their walls with artillery. I think a few days of heavy shelling should be enough to break their spirits."

"But, where would we attack? Their walls stretch for miles, Your Grace," Roy asked, "We don't have the resources to shell the entire city."

"The main gate," Ike said, pointing to that location on the map, "We'll cut off their main route of transportation. We can spare a few hundred soldiers and some canons to cover any side entrances. That way, no reinforcements could get into the city, and nothing could get out."

"We'll make them feel trapped," Lucina added, nodding in agreement with the plan, "If they feel trapped, they'll break faster."

"We leave tomorrow at sunrise," Marth announced, "If we leave then, we'll be at Sarasaland's gates by the sunset of the day after tomorrow. Ike, I want you to choose five of our soldiers to lead groups of two hundred. They'll cover all other entrances to Sarasaville. Immediately after sunset is when the shelling begins. It will not stop until I say so, is that clear?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Ike nodded.

* * *

As Warden Dedede sat on his throne in his castle, the large door across from him opened. Lord Sonic, in his light armor, walked into the long hall along with two of his Toad guards. As they walked down the hall towards the throne, Dedede's Waddle Dees straightened up. They stopped as the sun peaked through the windows above the Warden's throne. "Lord Sonic, I didn't expect to you," Warden Dedede said as he relaxed deeper into his throne, "To what do I owe the honor?"

"One of your own in the Capital, Meta Knight, has been arrested for High Treason against King Ganon," Sonic replied with both hands behind his back, "I wanted to come here before I went into Smashville for the trial. You know, to see if you were going to come along?"

"Yes, I've heard from Lord Kirby," Dedede nodded with a slight tone of regret, "Meta Knight's poor decision making has finally come back to bite him in the ass…"

"You haven't answered my question: will you be present at the trial?" Sonic asked, still looking up at the throne.

The Warden somehow slumped deeper into the throne and sighed, "You know Lord Sonic, ever since I came back from the wedding, I've been awfully busy in Dreamland; we've started reconstruction on Butter Building, there's a drought in the Vegetable Valley, our naval bases in the Ice Cream Islands need to be fortified and reconstructed as well…"

Sonic responded with a condescending chuckle, "Excuses, My Lord. Those are all excuses… Poor ones at that."

"Give me a break, will you?" Warden Dedede shook his head with a little laugh, "It's not like you can afford to spend some time away from your own Lands neither. I've heard that you still haven't found The Lord-Hand Luigi, Lady Peach or Lady Samus. Even General Link is still at large, roaming around Southeast Hyrule."

"General Link is dead," Lord Sonic quickly dismissed as he walked up the steps towards the throne. His guards, however, stayed at the bottom, standing perfectly still, "And the other three you mention? They have a starving force of two thousand. I have ten times that much in Mushroom City alone. They have no help either; there is no city, town or village in the Mushroom Lands nor Hyrule that will help them."

"And how do you know that?" Dedede asked doubtful, "The further north one travels, the more loyal to the old ways the people become. Do you know nothing about your own territories?"

"Loyal to the Toadstool Reign or not, they will be too scared to help them," Sonic told when he was on equal level with Dedede's throne, "They've seen what will happen to them and their villages, towns and cities if they betray me."

"Ah yes, the good-old "Rule with an Iron Fist" routine," the Warden nodded, recalling the events he heard about by way of letters and intelligence from the Dreamland army, "Tell me, how many villages and towns have you had to pillage and destroy to send a message to your people? Is it in the tens? Hundreds, perhaps?"

"Trust me when I tell you this, Warden: it was enough to warn the residents of the Mushroom Lands and Hyrule," Sonic answered, gritting his teeth, "I don't like the tone of your voice, Warden. You sound like you're attacking the way I decide to rule."

"I'm being critical," Warden Dedede corrected carefully, "If you're too harsh, and your "Iron Fist" is too strong, you'll lose the support of your people. That can be devastating, my Lord. Lay off the pillages and destruction; you've done quite enough."

"How about you stick with your way of ruling, and I'll stick with mine," Sonic said with a sharp tone, "I don't need you to tell me how to rule."


	19. All The King's Men

The white walls of Sarasaland's capital were covered in fire and ash. Two hundred yards from the gate were the catapults of Marth's Army, all lined up in a row. Every other one would fire, followed by the next one over a minute later; it seemed like, for the five hours of shelling thus far, there was never a minute where artillery was not hitting the city. Most of the tall towers along the wall, used for reconnaissance and archery, were targeted first and destroyed easily. However, for the rest of the wall, it stood strong.

About twenty feet behind the catapults was Marth's camp. From the comfort of their tent, Lucina and the King went over Robin's most recent letter, sent in the opening hour of their shelling campaign. As Marth finished the letter, Roy entered the tent quickly alongside Ike.

"Your Grace, two squads of Sarasaland's troops tried to leave the city through the southwest gate," Ike told, "Little Mac's men wiped one of them out, and the other retreated back into the city."

"Good," King Marth nodded, "Get word to him and the other leaders; tell them to get comfortable. They should have enough rations for a week, maybe two."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Ike said with a bow before he and Roy left.

When they were gone, the King put the letter down and turned towards Lucina, who sat across from him. "They've completely shattered inside the city," Marth told his Hand, "Robin says that the Senate has completely turned against the Princess. He's expecting the Senators to notion her… Impeachment."

"Can you impeach a monarch?" Lucina asked.

The King shrugged and sat back in his chair, "I couldn't think of a better word; my main point is that he's expecting the Senate to take power away from Princess Daisy in one way or another."

As the King prepared to burn Robin's letter for security reasons, Lucina could hear their artillery cracking at the city walls, each crack seemingly becoming more explosive and devastating. When King Marth lit the letter with a candle, Lucina asked, "What will happen when the Senate has power?"

"Most likely, they'll surrender the city to us," the King said, thinking out loud, "Hopefully, we won't have to dispense any soldiers taking Sarasaville."

"That is the best outcome," Lucina agreed, "but, I think we both know that will not happen. I suspect that, the moment we stop shelling, they'll send troops out in an attempt to break our line."

The King nodded and slightly frowned, "How many do you think they'll send in the event of a counter-offensive?"

"A few hundred," Lucina pondered after a few seconds of thought, "It shouldn't be anything that our men can't handle."

* * *

After he was granted permission to the castle, Robin, still dressed in his white garbs, was escorted across Daisy's long hall. As they crossed the marble floor, Robin could tell that the shelling campaign was taking a toll on the city, evident from the black smoke blocking out the moon above him. They went behind the throne, and into a door. Inside the door was a small war room, complete with Flower banners lining the walls, a table with a map of the city with movable pieces, and various swords. Robin was let into the room, and his escorts stepped out to stand guard. He saw Lilah, a few other Senators, and the Flower Princess surrounding the table.

"Two squads tried to leave the city and were slaughtered!" a Senator snapped as Robin looped around the table to join the others, "Your Majesty, we're trapped in the city! Marth's army will storm the walls and sack Sarasaville soon if we—!"

"You don't think I know that?!" the Flower Princess fired back with more aggression, "I know that, frankly, we're screwed. We're in a situation that gives us only one option; that option is to fight."

The Senators backed off as Lilah seemed to step forward in their place, "Princess, fighting is not the only option! If we surrender, _like we voted to do_ _after Birabuto fell_ , thousands of lives will be spared, if not millions."

"If we surrender to Marth, they will still sack the city!" Daisy yelled back. Lilah, however, did not even flinch, still staring at the Flower Princess maliciously, "We need to fight, don't you see?! To a soldier, there is no greater honor than to die on the field of battle for your country, for your fellow men; it is apart of their job, _their duty_ , to die for others. In the event of our surrender, thousands of soldiers will be spared, but millions of the people they are sworn to protect will die."

"Where you get this barbaric vision of Marth, I do not know," Lilah responded, getting into Daisy's face angrily, "What I do know is that your ignorance to the Senate will lead to the total destruction of our country."

Lilah stepped away and stormed out of the war room. Following suit, the other Senators left. However, Robin stayed behind as Princess Daisy leaned onto the table. She looked up and asked, "What are you still doing here, Senator Ramsay?"

"I have a question," Robin began, circling the table while looking at it, "Why do you think Marth is such a savage? If you surrender to him, the _last thing_ he'll do is sack the city."

"I've been the monarch of this great country for years and have studied its history thoroughly," Daisy explained, "I've read about the camps and fortresses have been surrendered to foreign invaders. They spare no one; they pillage, slaughter, burn… I do not intend for that to happen to our city."

Robin shook his head and said, "Senator Lilah is right, you know; you're dooming millions if you don't surrender."

"I'd rather die than surrender," Daisy quickly dismissed.

* * *

On the day of the trial, it seemed that the streets of Smashville were entirely empty. All the higher-borns and peasants flocked towards the Great Hall, squeezing into the large door just inside of the castle's main gate. To the left of the door, Rosalina watched everybody enter the building slowly. Directly behind her, Cloud walked quickly and briskly towards the future Queen. When he appeared next to her, she jumped, slightly surprised.

"How could you sell him out like this?" Cloud asked angrily and quietly, "All of this is happening because of you."

"You think that I sold him out willingly?" Rosalina snapped back in a whisper, "The King, _my husband_ , threatened my life. I knew that, if I didn't give him the answer that he wanted to hear, he'd think me a traitor; there would not be a trial for me, only an execution. I understand you're extremely loyal to your friends, Cloud, and I understand why you're angry with me. But, unlike you, I know our King; if you don't tell him what he wants to hear, when he wants to hear it, they'll be hell to pay."

"He's the Lord-Commander of the King's Guard, My Queen; he could've given you protection if you bought him and yourself a little bit of time," Cloud contradicted, becoming more heated.

Rosalina sadly looked down as the last of the peasants entered the hall, "He _was_ the Lord-Commander of the King's Guard. Believe me, there was no way to buy myself time."

Rosalina entered the Hall, followed by Cloud. Inside the Great Hall, there were benches set up on both sides of a pathway that lead to the throne, where the King was seated, brooding away. To his left were three seats filled by Lord Bowser, Mewtwo and Sonic. Opposite to the three were four chairs, filled by Kirby and two other witnesses. The lone seat left was for Rosalina, who walked there as the collect chatted among themselves. When she got her seat, Kirby looked at her then to the other Lords across from them.

"King Ganon has named Lords Bowser, Mewtwo and Sonic to the jury," Kirby whispered as Cloud walked towards King Ganon to stand guard, "Unless there's a miracle, Meta Knight most-likely will be sentenced to die."

"Even if there is a miracle, Meta Knight will die," Rosalina sighed sadly.

Soon, Meta Knight was escorted into the hall, stripped of all his armor. His navy-blue face shined under the midday light coming through the various glass panels on the ceiling. The former Lord-Commander had shackles around his small feet and his hands were cuffed in front of his small body. Slowly, he walked towards the stand adjacent to the elevated witness benches and jury. The collect remained silent, until a Koopa from the benches screamed, "Traitor!"

When Meta Knight reached the stand, the King rose from his seat to begin the trial, "I, Ganon, Sixth of My Name and King of the Realm of Smash, hereby name Lord Bowser of the Badlands to the jury. With him, I name Lord Mewtwo of Smashville, and Lord Sonic of the Mushroom Lands and Hyrule. Meta Knight, Lord-Commander of the King's Guard, has been accused of High Treason against the Crown. If he is found guilty, may the accused be punished accordingly. Meta Knight, did you in any way take actions with the specific intent to undermine and conspire against your King?"

"No," Meta Knight answered clearly and swiftly, looking up at the King from his small stand.

"Have you been in contact with the traitor Marth in the last year and a half?" King Ganon continued to interrogate.

"No," Meta Knight said, "I have not read a letter, or sent a letter, to the False King in the year and a half of your reign."

"Very well," King Ganon sighed, sitting back down disappointed, "The Crown calls Lord Kirby of Green Greens to the stand."

Kirby stood up from his seat and waddled down the steps to the stand as Meta Knight was escorted off it. When Kirby arrived at the stand, he was taken under oath quickly by a Gerudo. After being sworn to tell the truth, he turned to the King, who slumped regally into his throne. King Ganon adjusted himself, leaning onto his left arm that was propped up onto the arm, and nodded, "You may begin your testimony, Lord Kirby."

"Your Grace, Meta Knight has been a spy since his very first days on your Small Council," Kirby began, "I saw letters addressed to him from the False King in Sarasa back at his Dreamland home. During my first visit to Smashville, during Mario's Rebellion, he took me up to the Eastern Watchtower, the tower directly outside the Small Council chamber. There, he explicitly told me that he was conducting espionage in the name of the False King."

"What specifically?" Lord Bowser asked, leaning forward.

Kirby looked at Meta Knight briefly; Meta Knight did not look up at the Lord, just looking down in shame and anger. Turning his attention back to the jury, Kirby reluctantly continued, "He was giving the False King intelligence of the Koopa-Gerudo army, such as the use of a Pokemon Brigade, battle formations and tactics, the type of Battle Commander that you were, Lord Bowser… Essentially, he told the False King everything there was to know about Mario's Rebellion, specifically the Koopa-Gerudo Army."

"And you didn't think to tell us earlier, Lord Kirby?" Mewtwo asked back, surprised, "Did Meta Knight blackmail you like he did with Rosalina?"

"No, My Lord. I thought nothing of it at the time," Kirby explained, "At that point, Dreamland was neutral; I thought that, by bringing this issue to the Crown, I would declare a side for Dreamland, when, at that point in time, we were not ready to fight."

"After the war, did Meta Knight tell you about the letters that he sent?" the King interjected suddenly.

Reluctantly, Kirby clinched his teeth and muttered, "No… However, he did tell me that the King was suspicious and paranoid of spies in The Capital, and that he started using Rosalina's ravens to send letters to the False King. He never told me how he convinced the Queen-Consort to partake in his traitorous actions."

* * *

An hour and many testimonies later, the King announced for a twenty-minute recess. Kirby was one of the first ones to leave the Great Hall. He walked into the castle and walked to a balcony where he could see some of the city. As Kirby watched over the city, hating himself for testifying against one of his oldest friends, he heard footsteps directly behind him. Kirby turned around and saw Lord Bowser leaning on the rails of the balcony that they stood on. After turning back to the city and slightly cloudy sky, he heard Bowser approach him.

"Lord Kirby, I never got a chance to talk to you after the war ended," Lord Bowser said, "You were a very valuable asset to my army. I wanted to thank you for your service and loyalty to the crown."

"I would say that Dreamland was more than a _valuable_ _asset_ to your army," Kirby spat, not looking at the giant Lord next to him, "In the event that Warden Dedede decided to join Mario's Rebellion, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"I don't think that's the case, My Lord," Bowser responded with the monstrous tone that he was known for, "We beat those rebels back at the Border. That was well before you joined a side, Lord Kirby. With you or without you, the outcome of the war would've been the same."

Now, Kirby turned to face Lord Bowser and looked up at him, "Do you remember the Battle for the Border, Lord Bowser? General Link's spearhead completely shattered your defensive line, your men were being absolutely slaughtered by Toads and Hylians alike. While you and Lord Mewtwo were sheltered in the comfort of your war tent, I led a charge to stalemate their charge, buying _you_ time to use your _Pokemon Brigade_."

"Either way, we would still be here; Mario and Zelda would be dead even if we lost the Border on that day."

"What makes you say that?"

Lord Bowser scoffed, as if the answer were incredibly obvious, "Because they fear me and the Koopa in the Mushroom Lands; we killed their King and ended their rebellion."

Kirby stepped closer to Bowser. Even though he had to look directly up at Bowser, Kirby still seemed to look down at the Lord with the same hatred that he had for him at the Border, "You think they fear you in the Mushroom Lands? You are naïve, Lord Bowser. You won your little pathetic war against Mario because of me; _I am the one_ they hate and fear in the Mushroom Lands, not you."

"My Lord, you are incredibly mistaken—"

"I was in Mushroom City during the Wedding; I killed their King."

* * *

"...immediately after Captain Falcon was killed, Meta Knight became paranoid; the King knew that there were spies in Smashville," Rosalina testified as the sun seemed to go away behind some clouds. Directly behind her, Meta Knight still looked down at the ground, listening to (for the most part) the lies that passed for the truth. But, the truth, Meta Knight knew, did not matter in King Ganon's court, "Because he could not send letters with his own ravens, he asked if he could use mine."

The jury looked like they took her testimony in, listening intently. King Ganon, on the other hand, did not seem to be listening; it looked like he was killing time until he could sentence Meta Knight to death. Rosalina's testimony continued, as she began to tear up, "I thought nothing of it, until he started sending ten or twelve letters, and receiving ten or twelve in return, almost every fortnight. I decided to investigate a little and read one of the letters… He caught me while I read it, and he… He threatened my life…"

"Meta Knight threatened your life?" Lord Sonic responded, drawing back in shock.

Tears streamed down Rosalina's face. She was not crying because she was trying to sell her testimony; she was crying because, by testifying against him on such horrible charges, she condemned Meta Knight to death. Rosalina straightened back up and sniffled, "Yes… He said that, if I ever read another letter, he'd slit my throat. And, if I ever told anybody, he'd gut me like a fish…"

"Thank you, Queen Rosalina," King Ganon said apathetically, "That's quite enough."

As Rosalina walked back to her seat, still crying, Meta Knight looked up for the first time all trial. He looked at the King and stood up in his shackles. With malice in his yellow eyes, he spoke up, "Your Grace, I wish to confess."

"Confess? Do you wish to confess to the crimes you are accused of?" King Ganon asked, standing up from his throne. A few murmurs were uttered from the collect as Meta Knight walked to the witness stand.

"I confess not for the High Treason that I'm accused of, but I am guilty of a crime far worse than that," Meta Knight continued, "I'm guilty of getting in your way. Captain Falcon was right; you do not see justice, you do not see the truth, even if it's right in your face. It doesn't matter if I'm a spy or not, Your Grace. The only thing that matters is that none of the testimonies would be legitimate without your personal intervention; you blackmailed Kirby, you threatened your own Queen's life to hear not the truth, but to hear what exactly what you wanted to. Anybody who refuses to follow your exact wishes get pushed to the wayside and slaughtered like Captain Falcon! Well, I do not intend to be _murdered_ like Captain Falcon, Your Grace!"

"You are not on trial for—!"

"I am not finished!" Meta Knight snapped, fiery and angered, "I know that, no matter the truth, I will never receive justice in your court, under your rules, so I will decide my own fate, Your Grace: I demand a _trial by combat_."


	20. Champion of the Crown

Immediately after his trial, Meta Knight was roughly escorted back to his cell and tossed inside. Under orders from the King, the lone torch that provided him with light was taken out; for the remainder of his time, until his trial, Meta Knight was condemned to spend it in complete darkness. He did not know if it was minutes or hours until he saw some light creep into the room through the creaking door. The scarce light that did creep in was faint, telling him that it must be after sunset. He heard somebody step inside the door, only seeing a figure with a cape and long hair. The prisoner was unsure about who it was until he heard his voice.

"For the love of Din, they didn't even give you a light?"

It was Cloud; Meta Knight knew that voice anywhere. Sitting up on his _bed_ made from something uncomfortable, Meta Knight asked, "What are you doing here? Breaking me out?"

"No… I know that, if I were here to break you out, you'd refuse to come along on account of honor, or something like that," Cloud responded, grabbing a torch from the guard outside the door. After the door was closed, he put the torch on the pillar across from Meta Knight's _bed_. "You've caused quite a stir in the Capital, My Lord; there's talk that King Ganon will abstain from fighting in the trial and name a _Champion of the Crown_."

Although he was surprised, Meta Knight came off as if he could not care less, "And who is his Champion?"

"Speculation tells me that it will be a member of his Small Council," Cloud explained, leaning against one of the many wooden poles that kept the cell standing, "Lord Bowser and Mewtwo haven't fought in ages, so they'd be out. Wolf is perhaps the most incompetent Advisor the Realm has ever seen, when he is away from Ostia, anyway. My guess would be Lord Sonic, or…"

"Or Lord Kirby," Meta Knight finished after a pause, "If he must kill me to gain the complete, unquestionable trust of King Ganon, then so be it."

"You cannot be seriously giving up this easily," Cloud said, looking at the prisoner with disgust and shock.

Meta Knight looked at the ground and sighed, "I will fight whomever the _Champion of the Crown_ may be. And, I will fight until my dying breath, if necessary. In the event that Lord Kirby is their Champion, I will still fight until I can no longer fight. If I fall, then it is to Kirby's advantage and King Marth's. If I am _proven_ innocent, I will flee Smashville at the next available opportunity. Either way, I have a plan."

Stepping forward from the pole, Cloud spoke up clearly, "My Lord, you don't have to fight: let me be your Champion. It is my sworn duty to fight for the King and his Council. If I die, then I die for you. And, if I live, we can flee Smashville _together_ and join Marth's army."

Meta Knight did not respond for what seemed like ages. Drawing back, Cloud stepped back to the pole and leaned back, about to continue, when Meta Knight spoke up, "I cannot and will not let you die for me. The King trusts you with his life, Cloud. Don't you see your opportunity? If I let you be my Champion, what would that say about you? The public believes me to be a traitor; I don't want you to be dragged down with me."

* * *

After the first Small Council meeting that followed Meta Knight's trial, Kirby left the chamber as fast as he possibly could. In the hallway, he saw Cloud standing watch. The closer the Little Lord got to Cloud, Cloud's angry demeanor became more apparent. Surely, Kirby thought, he could not have possibly heard the news already; Kirby did not even know it until an hour ago. Kirby reached Cloud, who stood still to the side of a lone sandstone-colored door and did not acknowledge Kirby's appearance.

"I need to talk to you about something," said Kirby while he checked his surroundings, "We must be in private."

"In a moment, My Lord," Cloud said, continuing to brood and look away from him, "I'm busy currently."

"Whatever it is you're doing surely can wait, Sir. Please, we need to discuss this now," Kirby hastily whispered.

As soon as Kirby finished speaking, the door that Cloud was guarding opened. Out of it stepped Rosalina, who shook her hand as if she were writing something for a prolonged period. She closed the door almost as quickly as she exited the room and turned. When she saw Kirby, she seemed relieved to see him. "Lord Kirby, may I talk to you for a second?" the Queen asked.

"Perfect. Cloud, you should come," Kirby said.

The two followed Rosalina around the corner, up some stairs in a narrow, spiraling stairwell to the very top of a tower. And, at the top, there was a room that was completely empty with the exception of a closet. As Kirby and Cloud entered the room behind her, Rosalina looked out one of two triangular windows at the city and green lands around it. Because she was distracted momentarily, Kirby turned to Cloud, "I've been chosen to be the Champion of the Crown…"

"What does that mean?" Rosalina asked, turning back to the room, "Whatever it is, it doesn't sound good."

"It means that he will fight in place of King Ganon," Cloud explained, showing some signs of frustration, "All morning, I've heard rumors, My Lord," he now looked at Kirby, who seemed as surprised as himself, "and I refused to believe them."

"And Mewtwo tells me that you plan to be Meta Knight's Champion," Kirby responded, "So, I thought—"

"Meta Knight did not let me," Cloud explained, "I went to him late in the night and asked, almost begged, him to let me fight for him; I have a duty to him, to fight and die for him, but he did not let me. He did not want me to die in his name."

"I see," Kirby said with a slight frown. Several seconds of silence followed until Kirby turned towards Rosalina, "And what did you want to tell me?"

"I'm leaving the Capital," Rosalina sighed, "I wish to go South and become Marth's Queen."

Doubtful, Kirby protested, "With all due respect, I do not think that Marth will want to marry you, My Queen. They call you a traitor in the North, then they will call you a traitor in the South. In my opinion, that isn't the best track record."

"You forget one thing, Lord Kirby; I can give him something that he cannot resist," Rosalina smirked slyly, "I know Smashville _and_ King Ganon better than you and Meta Knight. More importantly, I can get him powerful connections inside the Realm."

"Powerful connections with who? Last time I checked, Luigi, Peach and the rogue two thousand Toads and Hylians despise you, Dreamland and their Warden showed their undying loyalty to King Ganon at the Wedding, and Lord Sonic, one of the last members of the Dead King's Council, also showed his undying loyalty to King Ganon."

Scoffing, the Queen began smiling as well, "I know that Lady Samus can get through to Luigi and Peach."

The tone of Kirby's voice became cautious and doubtful, "You overestimate Luigi and Lady Samus' relationship; they are man and wife by law and nothing else. I did see that they were warming up to each other, but everything changed when the first arrow was fired at the wedding. If Marth were to accept your offer to be his queen, you'd offer him no allies inside the Realm; only enemies."

"I guess we shall see, My Lord," Rosalina said, her voice full of confidence. When Kirby looked up, he saw that she was holding a letter to his face; the letter marked for Marth. Sighing, Kirby took the letter and inspected it briefly.

"I'll read this over," grunted the Little Lord reluctantly, "After dinner, I'll have Cloud send it with _his_ ravens."

* * *

"I have received a letter earlier today from our allies in the North," Samus announced, standing in front of a council of elder Hylians who wore dirty, long robes. She paced back and forth, her orange armor clanking with each step, between their seats and a small collection of villagers, who sat on the benches of the small church, "The True Princess of the Mushroom Lands has increased our forces to five thousand. If all your villages commit as much as those in Sherbert Land, we'll have a fighting chance."

"We absolutely cannot afford to send _every_ man or boy to battle," an elder responded, his voice dry and hard, "For most of us, we committed every man _and_ boy of fighting age to Mario's Rebellion; few were sent back on relief, and the majority were slaughtered in Mushroom City. The most we can give you is two hundred, split between all the villages and towns present today."

Taking a breath of frustration, Samus walked behind her to Link, who sat down in a pew. He handed Samus the letter sent from Luigi, and she turned back to the elders. She opened the letter and argued, "In Sherbert Land, they sent _everyone_ of fighting age to fight for us, not just the men and boys."

Quickly, another elder shot out of his seat with anger on his face, "You want me to put a sword in my granddaughter's hand and tell her to die for a hopeless cause?!" he shouted, extremely offended.

"Yes," Samus answered decisively before bringing her attention back to the whole council, "The time of being protective is long gone; you've seen what Sonic has done in the North. Those crimes are unspeakable. Do you think those villages would commit every man and woman to our cause if it would mean getting a chance for the justice that they rightfully deserve?"

"We'll talk it over," the elder in the middle said with a stroke of his white beard, "This meeting is adjourned; we'll meet again tomorrow morning and inform you of our decision."

A slightly annoyed Samus left the church with Link at her side. As they turned away from the church, somebody tapped her on the shoulder piece of her metallic armor. Samus turned around and saw a young woman with red hair in a brown fur armor with a cloak that covered her shoulders, all the way down her back, and stopped at her ankles. On her side, she had a sword with a simple straight handle and hilt. "My Lady, regardless of the council's decision, you have my support," the young Hylian said with a bow of her head, "I can have around seven hundred men and women ready tomorrow morning."

Surprised, Samus nodded her head in thanks. Behind her, Link smiled at the girl, and she smiled back. Samus looked back up at the girl and asked, "I'm curious to know, My Lady: why, even if it is against the council, would you help us?"

The girl straightened up and looked Samus directly in the eyes, "There's no need for those pleasantries; I'm not a Lady… I wish to fight for you because my father fought for High King Mario and Princess Zelda in the Rebellion. After he was killed in Mushroom City, I escaped from Lon Lon Ranch. Besides, I owe a great debt to an old friend."

"Old friend?" Samus asked with a half-grin as she turned around. Link shrugged, now with a suggestive smile on his face. He began to walk away when Samus faced the girl again.

"My name is Malon," the girl said, unsheathing her sword. She stabbed it into the ground and knelt at Samus' feet, "I swear to you that I will fight at the Princess' side and give her my Council if necessary until my death."

"Rise, Malon," Samus responded, motioning her fingers upward. When Malon rose, leaning on her sword, "I am grateful for your support. Tomorrow, we'll leave for the Mushroom Kingdom at sunset."

That night, Samus laid on a bed across from a sitting Link. While he had his back to the bed, Samus read a letter sent by Peach; they were able to bolster their force to six thousand and planned to head back south towards their rendezvous point, according to the letter. As Samus finished the letter aloud, Link sat the Master Sword on the table and cleaned in slowly. Link took the sword off the table and inspected both sides of it. When he put it back on the table to clean the hilt, Samus continued the tail-end of the letter, "… _Sherbert Land proved most loyal, committing the majority of the four thousand we were able to get in the past weeks. However, a force of six thousand against twenty is still not enough…_ Blah, blah, blah…"

As Link put his sword back in the sheath beside his chair, Samus sat up quickly from the bed. Link snapped his head towards the bed because of her sudden movement worriedly. Samus was horrified, evident from her facial expression, " _Luigi has received a letter from Sarasaland… Princess Daisy has been under siege from Marth's army… He's become more worried and concerned than he ever has before…_ Because of _her_ …"

Entertained by Samus' sorrow, Link cracked a smile and turned back to clean off his shield, which had become dusty and dirty from their journey. In a rage, Samus crumpled the letter and aggressively launched it across the room, hitting the wall opposite of the bed. She stood up from her bed and looked outside of the window into the darkness of the village. Sighing heavily, Samus felt the need to talk, "I can't believe this… I thought he was over it! It's like anytime that somebody even remotely _mentions_ or makes a vague reference to _The Flower Princess_ , he becomes a shell of himself!"

Although Samus' frustration only became worse the longer she spoke, Link did not look at her, only listening as his smile became wider and his silent laugh became worse, "I'm his wife, and he couldn't be any less affectionate towards me! Yet, when some Princess across the damn world has some problems, or _might_ be in danger, he gets all anxious and concerned! Does he even _like_ me?"

Link shrugged with a slight grin and turned his attention back to his shield. Samus turned around and sat on the windowsill, continuing, "I mean, I guess that I don't _love_ him like a wife should love her husband; he's cute and all, sure, but I can't love somebody who may not even _like_ me as a friend! I can kind of understand that he has a daughter in Sarasa, but…!"

Suddenly, Link became interested in Samus' venting. However, Samus was ignorant to her last remarks, and Link's sudden attention, and turned back to face the window, "What am I doing? I'm venting to a man _without_ a voice… Can I get more pathetic? I don't even like him _like that_ , let alone love him… I need to get over this…"

As Samus looked across the village, she saw a small illumination of orange light. The light seemed to get progressively larger, sparking her curiosity. It was not until she saw flames suddenly engulf a small hut that she drew back, astonished. Quickly, she ran to the bed and grabbed her sword. Following her, Link unsheathed the Master Sword and grabbed his shield, not having time to grab his green cap. They burst through the door, to see that the fire had spread to several other huts. When Samus looked around as the chaos unfolded, she saw several Toads, Waddle Dees, Waddle Doos and Hylians in navy blue armor, both metallic and leather, throwing villagers from the huts and laying waste to their homes. Somehow, Sonic got word of their presence in North Hyrule.

As Samus watched the pillaging in horror, Link spotted a Toad and a Waddle Dee charging him. He readied himself and jumped to the side, dodging their charge. Link quickly countered and cut the Waddle Dee down with a single slash. The Toad's axe struck Link in his shoulder, causing him to stagger slightly. But, before anymore damage could be done, a sword pierced the Toad in the chest. The blade was discarded, and Samus looked down at her kill. The sight of a Toad disloyal to Princess Peach confused her greatly; how could they fight for somebody who killed possibly the biggest hero in Mushroom Kingdom history?

The Lady had no more time to think; the next wave of attackers circled around the village and targeted the house that Samus and Link stayed in. Ten of the navy-clad troops charged at the two, who readied to absorb the charge. As the wave drew closer, embers from the fires slowly rained down from the night sky, slightly bringing the darkness orange light like fireflies. Samus raised her sword across her body, preparing to knock back the Hylian across from her, when a squad of twelve others collided with the navy soldiers from their left. The flanking charge virtually wiped out the wave of soldiers, allowing Samus and Link a moment to relax. Soon, they saw Malon with her sword drawn.

"They came from the Northwest, in the direction of Mushroom City," Malon told them panting, "I don't know how much more there is left."

Nodding, Samus followed her directions to the northwest of the village. There, she saw several of Sonic's soldiers executing the males and burning the village huts unchallenged. Samus charged the first group she saw; easily, she cut the throat of one of the troops with their back facing her, slashed another across the body and stabbed the last one. As she withdrew her blade from the soldier's gut, she saw several more running towards her. Stopping her advancement to catch her breath, Samus rolled her shoulders back and cracked her neck. When the first Toad reached her, she swung her sword downward, knocking the Toad onto his face. Her instincts allowed her to bob to the left, barely dodging the swing of a mace, and she quickly countered with a gut stab. Before she could withdraw her blade, a Waddle Dee rushed her, knocking her against the wooden wall of a shack. As a Hylian charged her, she ducked below the swing of an axe and rolled away from the mob that surrounded her. During her roll, she was able to grab a sword off the ground, and then her own when she was on her feet again. Once more, the mob surrounded her. Samus spun both blades independently from one another in each of her hands before she was attacked.

Although she was outnumbered, her fighting experience was far greater than any of her opponents. When one attacked her on her left, she knew that she only had a second before another would try to strike her on her back, right and front. Anticipating the order, she blocked the blow behind her with one of her swords and deflected the blow of the blade to her left with the other. As she turned to the Hylian on her left, she wildly swung the blade in her right hand to attack the next person, slicing them in the neck. Then, when she hit the Hylian in the leg and across the face with the other blade, Samus spun around and crossed her blades, allowing her to catch the swing of a battle-axe by a Toad. She pushed the Toad back and stabbed him with both blades as she felt somebody smack her back with a mace, then cut her shoulder with a sword. She grunted in pain and turned, leaving herself defenseless to the swing of the Hylians' blade. It cut her on the left cheek but did not throwing her off in the slightest. She knocked away the ensuing swing and countered with the blade in her left hand. And, just as she saw an axe raise to her right, she slipped the swing to the other side of the remaining one and stabbed him in the side.

As the last one fell, Samus discarded her blade and took the other. She saw several of the Hylian Villagers fighting back now, causing the remainder of Sonic's men to retreat. It was not until she returned to Link and Malon that she realized something about her current appearance; her Zero Suit was cut, torn, and dirtied red along with her face.

* * *

At sunset of the next day, Samus exited the house in the same orange armor that she wore a day earlier. Eager to leave, she turned towards the exit, where a sizable force waited, some with horses of their own, in armor. The longer Samus walked through the crowd, the more she noticed most of the armor on the Hylians; it was shanty leather or rusted metal from the early days of High King Mario's rebellion. She walked towards the front, where Link sat on Epona. In front of Epona was Malon, petting the horse softly and tenderly.

"What's with the armor of your troops?" Samus asked.

Malon shrugged, almost not paying attention to her, "It's the best we've got; whatever's left from the Hylian War Machine, and whatever Lord Sonic doesn't take, gets left for us. It's not the best, but it'll do."

"We cannot win a fight with horrendous supplies," Samus sighed, overlooking the force that was assembled.

Malon scoffed playfully, still petting Epona with love, "You're lucky enough that the elders committed thirteen hundred. That's about eleven hundred more than they said yesterday. Let's not get too picky."

"With your seven hundred, it boosts our total forces to eight thousand," Samus shook her head, turning back to the front, "They still outnumber us three-to-one."

Malon stopped petting Link's horses and looked up at the Silent Knight, who watched the road ahead of them in a calculating manner. She smiled briefly and looked at Samus confidently, "Good odds for any Toad or Hylian, I reckon."

Taken aback slightly, Samus faced Malon and responded, "That's exactly what Princess Peach told us before we left."

"Then this army is under good leadership," Malon nodded, looking up at Link again. This time, Link caught himself in Malon's gaze and looked at her in return. They exchanged smiles before Link turned his attention back to the road.

"Before we leave, can you tell me something?" Samus asked, catching Malon and Link's brief exchange, "How do you know Link?"

"I've known Fairy Boy since I was young," Malon said with a nostalgic smile, "We met in Castle Town when he was a boy with his blue fairy and I was a simple rancher's daughter."

As Malon walked away, Samus was left slightly disappointed, "And…?"

"And that's all that you need to know," Malon smirked.


	21. The Wilted Princess

Just outside of the King's tent, Roy and Ike sat by a fire as their artillery ceased fire momentarily. Startled, Roy's head shot up, looking around his surroundings in the darkness of the night. He turned to Ike, who seemed unmoved and tired. "Why did we stop firing?" Roy asked.

Shrugging, Ike turned a log in the flames with a nearby stick, "That's beyond my knowledge right now, Roy… and my care."

Roy shook his head, looking back at the fire. Just as he got comfortable again, King Marth exited the tent with Lucina and Lucario at his sides. The King looked at the catapults just ahead of the fire and announced, "We launch an attack at the main gate tomorrow at noon. Until then, we're going to double our artillery output."

"If you haven't noticed, Your Grace, the artillery isn't firing anymore," Ike commented, not looking at the King, "It doesn't look like we're "doubling" our output right now."

"We need to give the machines a break," Lucina quickly responded, sounding as tired as Ike, "If we don't, they'll break before our scheduled time to attack."

"All I hear is excuses," Ike said back, his voice playful now, "This is unacceptable."

"We can spare fifteen minutes," Marth interjected slightly annoyed, "And, if you wouldn't mind, drop the sarcastic tone; now isn't the time for it."

"It's always a good time for sarcasm, Your Grace," Ike said with a chuckle.

Around the camp, it was very relaxed and cool; the calm before the storm, Roy had commented in their latest Small Council meeting. Just as Marth's eyes became heavy, he heard a battle cry and a collision. Quickly, Marth jumped out of the bed inside his tent and grabbed his sword. After he quickly slipped into his armor, the King charged out of his tent, seeing several orange-clad Sarasa attacking their camp. He could not think about what was happening for long: a Sarasa charged him with a greatsword. Marth dodged the slash and countered, killing the soldier easily. As the body hit the ground, Marth turned and saw Lucina and Ike fighting back-to-back against at least ten Sarasa soldiers. However, before he could go over and help, he heard an explosion behind him. The King turned around and saw Roy walking away from a fire, with plenty of fallen Sarasa around it. Roy had his sword ready to attack when he got to the King.

"What the hell happened?" Marth asked.

Panting, Roy began, "Shulk's battalion at the West Gate faltered momentarily… They were overrun, Your Majesty. From what I heard, they have it back in control over there, but they saw hundreds escaped the city…"

An arrow flew right by Roy and Marth's ear, nailing one of their soldiers behind them. Roy and Marth ducked upon hearing the whistle of the arrow. They both rose and began scanning the area around them, looking for a kill.

"No more time to talk," Marth said before he charged a group of Sarasa.

In the madness of their brawl, Lucina and Ike were separated. For Lucina, she was entirely surrounded by Sarasa, who charged her at the same time. She charged back, breaking their line by running into a soldier and stabbing them with the blade up her sleeve. Lucina tossed her kill to the ground and ran. A few steps later, she turned and backed into a small area between a tent and a tree. Luckily for her, the Sarasa were too high on their own adrenaline to realize that the area she was now in was so small that they could only take her on one, or two, at a time. With the odds now balanced, Lucina began tearing through them with ease.

Marth smacked the swing of a mace away from his body and punched the Sarasa soldier in the face. The soldier staggered back and fell onto a knee, rattled by the sucker punch. Taking his blade in both hands, the King raised it and stabbed down multiple times. As he stopped, Ike ran up behind him and slashed two soldiers with his long blade. King Marth turned and saw Roy absorb a blow from a mace, then one from an axe. He fell flat onto his face, getting kicked and stomped on by the any surrounding Sarasa soldier not preoccupied by one of Marth's men. The King just watched as he stabbed a Sarasa in the stomach without laying his eyes on his kill.

"Go!" Ike shouted, kicking a Sarasa down a small decline, "I can take care of myself!"

Quickly, Marth ran over to Roy, who curled his knees into his stomach, trying to relieve some pain. The blow of a mace to his back caused Roy to sprawl out again, making himself more vulnerable. As King Marth ran over to Roy, he saw Lucario push a Sarasa back and slash his throat with a small blade. When Lucario saw the King running towards five or so Sarasa, he joined him. The two cut down the first couple soldiers, who did not even notice him. A Sarasa turned and wildly swung in the direction of Marth. Lucario caught the swing and countered, stabbing the Sarasa in the gut. The King let out a cry as his sword tore threw another soldier's chest. Quickly, the King kicked the soldier off his sword and swung, connecting with the remaining soldier's arm. Marth was able to land another strike, swinging the opposite direction, and slashed his sword up, knocking the soldier in the chin. The soldier flew back as Roy weakly rose to a knee, panting and holding his side. He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and tried to stand up. When he failed, Lucario ran over and helped him.

"Are you okay?" Marth asked, running his sweaty and bloody hand threw his hair.

Roy coughed and put his arm around Lucario's shoulders, "Never better… You know, I had everything under control—"

"You would've gotten killed, so stop trying to act tough," Marth warned, studying the chaos in the camp. For the most part, things seemed to have calmed down. Then, he saw Ike, who still fought like a warrior against a great number of Sarasa. Without another word, Marth ran over to help him as Lucario took Roy to safety.

Lucina passed Lucario and Roy with Ness at her side. She stopped as Lucario and Roy slowly ran by; it looked like Roy had been bloodied pretty good, so Lucina assumed that there were more Sarasa in the direction in which the other two came. She looked at Ness and nodded her head forward. They ran as fast as possible and saw Ike and Marth fighting on top of a slight incline. They were not restricted to one area, however; they kept moving, attacking a circling enemy. Just before Lucina could charge in, they heard an arrow blow by their heads. Ike saw the arrow as well, heading straight for Marth. Instinctively, Ike jumped and tackled Marth; the arrow pierced his waist, causing him to yell out in pain.

The King slowly turned his head and saw Ike's face on his shoulder; he seemed to be in shock from the arrow. However, he grunted and yelled, standing back up and swinging his sword wildly. His swing powered through the shield of a Sarasa, shattering it along with the soldier's arm. Ike swung like a mad man again, hitting a few more soldiers. He threw a punch, knocking the soldier, whose arm he just broke, to the ground. Ike prepared to lung and stab the soldier in the chest; however, another arrow ripped through the air, tearing into Ike's stomach. The wounded warrior fell his knees; his vision faded, and his breathing became quick. It sounded like he was not able to take any air in at all, just making the sounds. King Marth rose with his sword, but Ike pushed him over, making him fall back onto the ground. Slowly, Ike rose again with all his strength and kept fighting; he caught the blade of an axe with his sword and punched the soldier in the gut. The soldier doubled over, allowing Ike to stab him in the back. He withdrew his blade once again and prepared to counter a nearing Sarasa. Ike brought his sword up to deflect the Sarasa's swing, but a third arrow pierced Ike's armor, striking him in the chest. Then, almost immediately after the third, a fourth arrow struck him in the abdomen.

As Ike fell onto his back, King Marth rose and finished the remaining Sarasa. About one hundred yards across from him, he saw Lucina and Ness, a trail of Sarasa behind them, confront the archer. They cut him down easily and turned back to their King, who bent to a knee in front of Ike. Both Lucina and Ness ran towards the incline as fast as they could.

Marth knelt and held Ike as he lay on the ground wounded. The more Ike tried to breath, it seemed, the less air he was able to capture. In a panic, Marth reached for the arrows in Ike's body and tugged at one of them, trying to take it out. However, it was too far in; the more King Marth jerked the arrow, the more Ike winced and grunted in pain. Sweat streamed from Ike's forehead and down his face as he jerked around in pain, "Stop! For the love of God, stop! It's too late, Your Grace…"

"It's not too late, Ike," Marth said, letting go of the arrow. He turned around and saw Lucina and Ness, standing over both of them. Horrified, Lucina put her hands over her mouth as her eyes became teary. Ness turned around, but he heard Ike's faint voice behind him.

"There's no point trying to find me help…" his weak voice muttered, "I'm done for…"

"No, you're not," King Marth said sternly, "Stop saying that! I will not let you die, Ike; I need you when we take Smashville—"

"You're in good company already, Your Grace," Ike muttered, "Make me one promise… When you take back the Realm, and sit on your Rightful Throne, remember me."

"I won't have to remember you," Marth said. He looked at Lucina, who knelt beside him in shock and sadness, " _We_ won't have to remember you… Because you will be there with us…"

"I would've followed you anywhere," Ike said, his breath fading with his vision, "my brother… My Captain… My King…"

Ike stopped breathing and moving. Marth let go of him and just looked at his face, his eyes staring into nothing. He stood up slowly as Ness took his spot, putting one hand on Ike's shoulder and whispering into his ear, "Oh Great Fairy, cast your magic onto this man, your servant. Bring him back from the darkness and shadows of death…" When Ike did not wake up immediately, Ness started again, sounding more and more desperate, "Oh Great Fairy, cast your magic onto this man, your servant. Bring him back from the darkness and shadows of death…"

* * *

Inside of the city the following morning, Robin sat at the bottom of the Senate, directly across from Princess Daisy. The room, as usual, was full of Senators, who sat along the half-bowl. Since the so-called _Siege of Sarasaville_ began, Robin grew tired of all the Senate and Strategy meetings they had because, well, none of them worked; the one counter attack that was actually successful in leaving the city ended with a force of four hundred getting slaughtered, while only fifty of Marth's own were killed.

"We have to surrender the city," a Senator's voice rang out, "We have no options left!"

"Before you respond with a _rallying cry_ , Your Majesty, I wish to speak!" Lilah shouted, standing up from her seat. She walked down the steps and cleared her throat. Lilah began, "They've shelled the hell of the city for days; in those days, we've lost five hundred soldiers, half of which died trying to get out of the city. That was before last night; we've almost lost nearly thousand troops in _three days_. That does not even include the damages to the walls; all our towers are destroyed, the gates are so worn down that they might as well be destroyed, and did I mention that three hundred _civilians_ have been killed in the crossfire?"

"You still do not get it," Princess Daisy sighed with great frustration, "We are the Realm of Smash's last hope of retribution. The destruction of Sarasaville is, more than likely, inevitable at this point; if we die, we die fighting for our people! For _Mario_!"

"That's it…" Lilah muttered. Robin must have been one of a few Senators who heard her, because everyone else discussed possible talking points for the meeting quietly. Lilah grabbed Princess Daisy's shoulder. Daisy turned around shrugged Lilah's hand off her shoulder.

"Take your hand off me, Senator!" Daisy warned.

"You've left the Senate no choice," Lilah snapped back. She grabbed Daisy again, but once more, Daisy threw her hand off her shoulder.

"What has gotten into you, Lilah?" Princess Daisy asked angrily, completely oblivious.

Lilah backed off and put her left hand behind her back. She looked around the Senate and shouted, "Now! What the hell are you all waiting for!? NOW!"

Suddenly, Robin saw an older Senator come behind Daisy with a knife in his hand. He quickly stabbed her in the side, causing her to scream in pain. Quickly, she turned and punched that Senator in the face. With her back to Lilah, Lilah and two others charged her and turned her around. They each plunged their knives into Daisy multiple times as seven other Senators ran down the stairs with their own blades. Standing up, Robin looked on in shock; the Senators pulled and pushed Daisy, who seemed to be helplessly flailing back and forth like a rag doll now. Every Senator got their chance at her, each one getting in a stab wherever they could land one. Robin was horrified, but he did not stop the murder. Why would he? The Senate was _helping_ King Marth's war effort…

A minute later, most of the Senators had sprinted out of the building wildly, proclaiming the Princess to be dead and the war over. From his area in the Senate, Robin watched a lifeless Daisy lay on the ground, a pool quickly surrounding her. Robin looked on at her face and chest; although her face was covered by red, and her beautiful orange dress as well, he could tell that she was still breathing. He heard Lilah walked up next to him and put the knife that she used in his hand.

"Go on, Senator Ramsay," Lilah whispered, "There's new blood in Sarasaland now."

Robin brought his hand up and looked at the blade. He spun it in his hand, then looked at the crimson Flower Princess, who weakly turned her head in his direction. He walked towards the Flower Princess slowly, then knelt down. He could only hear Daisy's whimpers and rough breathing becoming weaker. He clinched the knife in his right hand and looked away from the Flower Princess. Reluctantly, Robin swung his fist down, into the chest of the Princess to provide the _coup de grace_. Daisy's head shot up, quickly. She did not say anything audible initially, however. Before it was over, she muttered, " _Lauren…_ "

* * *

Marth prepared his front line, making sure his men were ready for attack. They lined up across the field, facing Sarasaville's main city gate. Roy and Lucina approached Marth, who sorrowfully looked back at the camp. When he heard their footsteps, the King turned around and asked, "What is it?"

"We haven't addressed about what happened last night," Roy grunted, putting his hand over his abdomen in attempt to suppress the pain he felt, "It is something that you need to address to your men, My King."

"There's nothing to address, Roy," Marth sighed, "Ike fought, and he died. It's war; those things happen in _war_."

Frowning, Lucina said, "Your Grace, Ike was your closest friend and protector; as your friend and Hand, I think that we shouldn't attack today. You'll do something that'll get you killed; we all need time to mourn."

Marth shook his head and spiked his sword into the ground, trying to release some emotion, "He took those arrows to save _me_. That first arrow was meant to kill me, probably tear through my neck. But, he tackled me and took the arrow to the side. The other three arrows fired at him? That archer thought that he was hitting me; I tried to get up and help him, but he pushed me down. He didn't want the archer to realize that I wasn't the one getting killed… Now, he's gone…"

"Shell the city for today and tomorrow," Roy recommended as Marth looked down, "We do need to attack the city, but…"

"But what?" Marth asked.

Roy shrugged and sighed, looking at the city's gate, "Emotion clouds all of our better judgement; believe me, I want to charge those gates and slaughter every Sarasa soldier in there for Ike, but that's stupid; I'll do something to feed my hunger for vengeance, but that action may get me killed, or thousands of our soldiers killed."

"We attack at sunrise the day after tomorrow then," Lucina nodded, "I'll get the men at ease—"

Suddenly, the King looked up and saw something peculiar on top of the city's main gate. His eyes became wide and his jaw almost hit the floor, "There's no need for that."

Confused, Lucina turned and followed Marth's pointed finger. She saw a white flag over the main gate, waving in the wind. About ten seconds later, the gate opened. Lucina, Marth and Roy hopped onto some horses and rode quickly for the gate. On their way to the gate, no Sarasa troops even approached the gate. They arrived at the gate a minute later, seeing that there was a crowd of civilians by the gate. Between the crowd was a clear lane that lead further into the city, through the destroyed market and towards the Parliamentary Buildings and Castle. At the castle's gates, they saw Robin waiting in white robes.

On foot, Marth, Lucina and Roy approached Robin. The crowd was not hostile but silent in awe. Lucina looked at the crowd curiously; it seemed that the crowd watched the three of them walk as if they were seeing Gods among men. When they reached Robin, Marth greeted him with a hug. Not expecting a hug, and one of such genuine care, Robin lightly wrapped his arms around his King. When Marth let go, he said, "I'm glad that you're okay, Robin."

"I don't know if I'm okay," Robin sighed, "I should tell you that the only reason that they surrounded the city was because of the mutiny of the Senate…"

"Mutiny?" Lucina asked. Her confusion grew even more when Robin told them of the so-called _mutiny_ , "I thought you said that they would _impeach_ the Princess, not have a mutiny against her."

Marth looked over the crowd, which now included several Senators in the front. Robin looked over and saw Lilah, still with dry blood on her hands. She was the first one to kneel in the presence of the King. When she knelt, all the Senators followed. And, after the Senators, the entire crowd bent the knee to Marth.


	22. Darkest Knight

Luigi watched the two thousand troops march into their make-shift camp just on the border of the Mushroom Lands and Hyrule. Now, their forces were eight thousand as opposed to the two thousand it was a few months earlier. Although they were still short on food supply, they stood a fighting chance against Sonic. Luigi turned around and felt the dew of the grass wet the bottom of his shoes. Across from him, he saw Peach and Samus walking with Link and another with red hair and light armor. As they got closer, Luigi noticed a letter in Samus' hand.

"Luigi, I'd like you to meet Malon of Lon Lon Ranch," Peach introduced, "She helped Samus and Link get the two thousand that they were able to bring; she'll be apart of our Council from now-on."

"We could use another perspective on our Council," Luigi slightly grinned at Malon, "Thank you for the aid."

Malon said nothing, only nodding in response. Seeing this as her cue, Samus spoke up, "There is another thing to address, Luigi; Lord Sonic sent us a letter from Smashville. He knows about our army and ambition."

After taking the letter from Samus, Luigi opened it and began reading it. Beyond a few blind threats of execution and torture, there was not much substance to the letter. In a few seconds, Luigi was able to puzzle out the skinny: come to Mushroom City, bend the knee to Sonic, and he will spare their lives. If they were to fail to do this, their entire army would be slaughtered, and the Council would be detained, tortured, then executed. Luigi shook his head as he read further down. After he finished the letter, he handed it back to Samus.

"What do you think, Luigi?" Peach asked.

Luigi shook his head and looked at their men, "With Dreamland's aid, they'll have even more troops. That makes me consider kissing Sonic's ass and having a chance at living. But, since the battle will be under Bowser's command, I think we'll be fine."

"I do not think that Dreamland's army will matter," interjected Peach, "Once the Toads who are forced to fight for Sonic see us, they will show their true loyalty."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Malon said, stepping in, "With all due respect, Your Majesty, you have no idea about the fear Sonic strikes into the hearts of his men; through the village sackings, he has shown and appealed to the savagery inside them. Most of them are too far gone to be brought back around. Even the ones who can be simply will not. The fear of what Sonic may do to their families keeps them in line."

The Princess turned to Malon and responded, "But, they won't have to fear anymore when we beat down Sonic's army and put him down like the treasonous dog he is."

"We can decide about what to do on the way to Mushroom City," Luigi advised, looking up at the cloudy day, "It will start to rain soon; the sooner we leave in ideal conditions, the less ground we'll have to make up after the rain passes. When we get to Mushroom City, we will still meet with Lord Sonic to discuss the parameters of battle."

The Council all nodded in agreement. As they disbanded to prepare to ride, Luigi called, "Link, stay just a few more minutes. I need to talk with you about something."

* * *

Lucina stood in admiration of Sarasaland's throne with Roy at her side. She had been there before but never actually noticed the beauty of the room: it's beautiful marble pillars that lined the walls, the marble ground colored like sand, the stained glass windows with designs of flowers, and the orange throne that was shined in on by sunlight from the windows behind it. Her admiration trance soon broke when she heard the door open behind them. In walked King Marth, with a piece of parchment, and Robin, back in his armor from before. Lucina and Roy both bowed as the King approached them. When they rose, Lucina noticed that Marth wore an orange crown on his head.

"Why did you want to meet us, Your Grace?" Roy asked.

"Plenty of reasons," the King answered, stopping in front of them, "Because I have no wife, and no children as a result, I do need an heir. Ike's death only made me realize this. I have held council with Robin this morning, as well as Lucario and Ness. Through our conversation, we came to a decision," Marth turned to Lucina, "Lucina, Hand of the King, we decided that, in the event of my death, you will become Queen."

Immediately, Lucina spiked down to a knee and put her hand over her heart, "Your Majesty, it would be my honor. Thank you," when she rose again, she continued, "If you don't mind me asking, Your Grace, why me?"

Robin spoke up for their King as he crossed his arms, "Well My Hand, Ness brought up the idea. He said that he believes The Great Fairy brought you back from the dead for a reason. He also said that he believes that the reason is simple; you are meant to become Marth's heir."

"Now that that one's out of the way," Marth continued, as if he were going through a list, "we should discuss Meta Knight… He has been arrested for treason and has demanded a Trial By Combat."

"So, he'll fight King Ganon? That's an ambitious demand, if you ask me," Roy commented, slightly surprised.

Sighing, Marth shook his head, "He was supposed to. However, King Ganon trusts Lord Kirby, our current eyes in Smashville, without question. And, because of their relationship, he named Kirby as The Champion of the Crown. In the coming days, Lord Kirby will fight Meta Knight to the death… Neither could do anything about it."

"With either outcome, we lose a valuable asset inside the Realm," Robin said, looking at the throne ahead of them.

"In his last letter, Kirby also included one from the Queen," Marth continued, checking items off a list in his head, "Well, Queen-to-be, Rosalina."

"What does the Traitor of the Mushroom Lands want?" Lucina asked.

"She wishes to come across the Orange Ocean and become my wife," Marth told, thinking hard about it, "It seems that she leaves one monarch for another, doesn't it?"

"She maybe a fair-weather Queen, but a Queen that we can use," Lucina responded, herself thinking aloud, "She knows the city of Smashville better than any of us. More importantly, she knows _King Ganon_. Your Grace, we could use her; she'd be a very powerful asset to gain in wake of the loss of another."

"I'll have to think about it," Marth nodded quizzically, "In the meantime, we should begin preparing for our invasion of the Realm. Robin, our new Commander, will travel back to the coast, where this all began. Now that we have the Sarasa army and navy, we have a thousand ships and tens of thousands of more soldiers. He will begin the landing plans for Dreamland. After we decide what to do in Sarasaland, we'll go meet Robin and sail for the Realm."

"Anything else?" Roy asked.

"One more thing," Marth answered, finally at the end of that list, "The Steel Foxes sent me a raven last night; they want to join us to take back the Realm. I guess they're finally tired of running around aimlessly and fighting each other."

Roy grinned, "Hey, we have much more men, and some fierce warriors now; I cannot complain."

After Robin left, Lucina, Roy and Marth all walked out of the throne room, down some marble steps, through a long hallway, and finally out of the castle. As they walked down the path towards the castle gates, Lucina asked, "I forgot to ask you this inside, Your Grace; what happened to the Senators who… you know?"

"They've taken over the country in place of the monarchy," Marth told, "I was heading over to the Senate now."

"I'll join you, if you don't mind," Lucina replied as they went through the gates and into the busy street. They turned left, towards the large parliamentary building, "Roy, will you come with us?"

Laughing, Roy shrugged his shoulder, "I've had enough politics for today. I'm going to take a much needed, and rightfully earned, nap."

Roy left them as they entered inside the building. Inside the building, it was quiet; the only sound they could hear was the wetness of a mop cleaning the ground. Lucina looked down the half-bowl, towards the area where Daisy was betrayed. There, she saw Lilah in white robes with no shoes on her feet. She looked around the Senate as several others cleaned up the blood on the marble floor. When Lilah heard the footsteps of the King behind her, she turned and bowed. "Your Majesty," she said gracefully.

"Senator," the King greeted with a raise of his hand, bidding the young Senator to rise, "So, you're Delilah Bluebell, the girl whom Robin had endless praises about?"

Lucina could tell that Lilah was surprised by the presence of the King by the look on her face and her body language. However, her face lit up when she heard the King, a man that she never spoke a word to, say her name. She slightly stammered, "Y-yes, Your Majesty. That is me."

"I want to thank you," Marth said with a bow of his head, "Without you, we'd still be at siege with the city. I know that traditionalists in Sarasaland may see you as a traitor for your actions. Those actions against The Flower Princess were brutal, but necessary."

"They were, Your Majesty," Lilah replied, being as respectful as possible, "It was a shame that Princess Daisy was so blind… I liked her, I really did, you know… But, she was leading Sarasaland down the path to destruction."

"What made you like her so much?" Lucina inquired curiously.

Lilah shrugged, "I grew up in an orphanage. Luckily for me, my mother was close to the Crown, so Princess Daisy always looked out for me; she sponsored my orphanage and got me adopted by an older Senator. When my guardian died, I took his spot in the Senate."

"I'm guessing you changed your name?" Lucina asked with a slight smirk, "Sorry for any offense I cause, but there's no way that _Delilah Bluebell_ is an actual name."

Lucina's comments made Lilah chuckle a little, "I did change my name. The Flower Princess said that I had to for security reasons inside the Senate. So, yes: my name isn't actual _Delilah_ _Bluebell_."

"What is it?" the King asked.

Lilah sighed, thinking, "I never knew my last name, but the other kids in the orphanage called me Lauren."

* * *

Before a crowd just outside of the King's Castle, Lord Kirby stood under a red tent. He looked to his left, seeing that there were seats that lead up almost ten feet. In the middle of the stands, there was a large red box in which the King sat alongside his Queen, Lord Bowser and Mewtwo. Standing on each side of the box were two Gerudo soldiers and two Koopa soldiers dressed like King's Guards. Lord Kirby looked across from him and saw his opponent swinging out his little arms. As Kirby watched Meta Knight, Cloud walked up next to him.

"My Lord, Marth has taken Sarasaland," Cloud informed the Little Lord, "He said that he'd decide on Rosalina's proposition in the coming days."

"That's good," Kirby sighed, putting his green cap on. Next, he grabbed his sword and swung it around, stretching out his arms, "If I die, make sure you tell Meta Knight everything that has happened to Sarasa since he was imprisoned; there has been a lot of changes since."

"Sarasa is not the only place where changes have been made," continued Cloud as he watched Meta Knight put on his mask, "Lords Sonic and Bowser left Smashville last night for Mushroom City. Luigi has assembled a force of eight thousand to take back the Mushroom Lands and Hyrule."

Kirby stopped moving and turned to Cloud, shocked, "Luigi's still alive? And plans to take back the Mushroom Lands?"

Cloud shrugged and contradicted, "He plans to, but he's outnumbered three-to-one."

Before he went out to meet his opponent on the smooth stones under the late-afternoon sunlight, Lord Kirby commented, "Good odds for any Toad or Hylian, if you ask me."

Focused, the Little Lord walked out with his sword sheathed. Seeing his cue, Meta Knight threw his cape off and walked out. In the middle of the two, Wolf stood and waited for the two fighters to be at his side. When they were, he began, "In the eyes of Gods and Men, we gather here today to determine the guilt or innocence of Meta Knight, former Lord Commander of the King's Guard. If he is innocent, give his sword the strength to slay the Champion of the Crown. If he is guilty, strike him down where he stands."

Wolf went back into the stands as Kirby and Meta Knight drew their swords. No more words were spoken between the two friends as they squared each other up. After what seemed like forever, the King rose out of his seat and shouted, "Fight, you coward! You wanted this trial, didn't you!?"

Meta Knight turned away from the King as Kirby charged him. He swung quickly, but Meta Knight blocked the attack. The clash of the two hunks of metal drew cheers and noise from the crowd. Kirby backed off momentarily then rushed Meta Knight again, swiping his sword upwards. Once again, Meta Knight blocked the attack, then brought his sword around to swing at Kirby. Quickly, Kirby held his sword downward, allowing the metal to absorb the majority of the power in the strike. However, he still felt the power of the strike. The prisoner took advantage, hitting Kirby in the face with another strike. The Little Lord rolled backwards, recovering his feet a split second later. Now, Meta Knight became aggressive as the crowd really got into it.

Kirby saw an opportunity in Meta Knight's sudden aggression. After quickly blocking some furiously fast strike from his opponent, Lord Kirby swung, scratching Meta Knight's mask. He was able to land two more strikes, as the crowd shouted and yelled. On the third strike, he smacked Meta Knight in the arm, knocking his arm guard off. It seemed Meta Knight was winded momentarily, for he grabbed his left arm in pain. As Kirby backed off, he looked up at the box, seeing Rosalina's face; it looked like her world came crashing down, and she knew that, whether Kirby or Meta Knight fell, it would be all her fault. The Little Lord snapped out of his stare when he saw a grey mask in front of him. He jumped back, dodging a strike from Meta Knight. He sidestepped, dodging another powerful slash from Meta Knight's bright blade. He smacked Meta Knight's sword away from him on the next swing, countering with a stab. However, Meta Knight dodged this attack by rolling to his left and successfully countered by hitting Kirby in the back. He felt the blade cut into his back, tearing away some skin. Quickly, Kirby rolled and jumped up, facing Meta Knight again.

It was obvious that the last strike hurt Kirby; the way he was moving told Meta Knight that he now had the advantage in the fight. The crowd seemed now worried for Lord Kirby, for most fell silent, but many scared and surprised yelps were made. Kirby staggered around, keeping distance between him and Meta Knight in order to catch some energy. He could not keep this distance for long; Meta Knight leaped and swung at Kirby. Kirby blocked it quickly and rolled away from the next fast swing. He landed on his side as Meta Knight's blade broke the stone ground were Kirby just stood. Meta Knight strode over to Kirby, who struggled to his feet.

When he reached the Little Lord, the prisoner raised his blade. However, Kirby spun around and kicked Meta Knight as hard as he could. Meta Knight flew back but caught his feet quickly. The prisoner saw Kirby rise to his feet with the sword in hand. The crowd became silent as Kirby raised his blade, pointing it directly at Meta Knight. The prisoner set his feet and ran towards Kirby, who held the sword with both of his hands. Quickly, Kirby bobbed away from Meta Knight's stab and swung his sword upwards, lodging his sword just below Meta Knight's arm. Meta Knight stopped, and Kirby continued his swing hard across Meta Knight, slicing his mask in half. Meta Knight hunched over on his wounded side, holding his sword with his weak hand. Kirby spun his sword and looked at his hurt friend as the crowd became loud again. Meta Knight threw a strike while hunching over, but Kirby blocked the attack and slashed his sword down, connecting with Meta Knight again. The prisoner flew back onto his face as the crowd stood up to see the action. Slowly, Kirby hobbled over to Meta Knight, who did not move from his spot. He rolled Meta Knight over, seeing that his eyes were nearly closed, and his breaths were long and heavy. Lord Kirby looked up at King Ganon, who nodded his head. He looked back at Meta Knight, who seemed to have accepted his defeat by closing his eyes. Reluctantly, Kirby raised his sword and swung downward, slashing Meta Knight across the face. Meta Knight's body flew to the left, hitting the ground hard as the crowd cheered.

"I guess the bastard was guilty," King Ganon commented with a smile. He looked at Kirby and nodded respectfully. However, Kirby did not return the same respect; in wake of his friend's slaying, he furiously slammed his red sword onto the ground and walked towards his tent.


	23. Lex Talionis

The day would have marked Luigi and Samus' tenth-month anniversary. Instead of celebration, however, Luigi and the Council strode across the field towards the enemy, Lord Sonic. To Luigi's side were Link and Peach, then Samus and Malon on the other, all atop horses. Also, for the first time in what seemed like ages, Luigi wore leather armor. As they paced across the open field, where the battle would take place the next day, Luigi noticed that, despite Sonic's claims of Lord Bowser leading his forces, Sonic only had two horseback Toads with spears. When the two sides met in the middle of the field, no words were said between them; Luigi and Peach only stared at Sonic, hatred filling their faces. After a few seconds, Lord Sonic cleared his throat.

"You know why we're here," he began, looking at the lot, "Here are the terms of surrender: my army and Dreamland's army, numbering over twenty-four thousand total troops, will be out at ten o'clock. At that time, all of you will come across the field, as you did just now, and bend the knee to me. After that, you will all be spared. Well, all except the Turncoat, Samus Aran; she will be returned to Smashville and promptly tried for Deserting the King's Guard and High Treason. If you fail to bend the knee, or hand over the traitor, you will die tomorrow."

"We will not die tomorrow, My Lord," Luigi responded, leaning back on his horse, "At least, I do not intend to."

Slightly surprised, Sonic asked, "So, you will surrender tomorrow at ten o'clock? In front of your whole army?"

Peach shifted her gaze towards Luigi, anxiously awaiting his answer. When Luigi nodded his head once, Peach drew back, completely astonished and disgusted. Their work in Sherbert Land and North Hyrule was all-for-nothing if Luigi were to surrender. She looked towards Samus and Malon, who both seemed to be as surprised as she. The Princess was about to speak up, but Luigi opened his mouth and kept talking, "I hope that you and Lord Bowser are out tomorrow. It wouldn't be a proper surrender if the would-be battle commander is not there."

"Lord Bowser is to arrive here tonight along with Warden Dedede," Lord Sonic told, "Lord Bowser will join me out there tomorrow, for your council to bend the knee."

As they turned away, Princess Peach grabbed Luigi by the shoulder and violently spun him around. "What the hell was that!?" she screamed hysterically, "What happened to fighting for our home!?"

"Peach, calm down," Luigi whispered, stopping his horse. As they stopped, the others strode ahead of them, "I have everything under control."

* * *

In the chamber of the Small Council, Kirby sat down in his chair across from Mewtwo and Wolf. Nowadays, it seemed, Kirby always wore his green cap and had his sword on him. Even though it had been close to a little over a fortnight since his fight against Meta Knight, he was still very sore from it, and his fighting skills were lacking as a result. As Kirby slightly winced in pain, King Ganon angrily entered the chamber and stomped his feet over to his chair at the head of the table. The King took his seat and looked around at his Council, waiting for someone to say something.

More silences ensued, seemingly making Ganon exponentially angrier. While studying the room and his council, the King spoke, "The lineage of traitors in my capital city increases by the day. The queen is gone."

Watching the other's reactions, Kirby leaned back passively. Shocked, Mewtwo shot out of his seat, "Where did she go? Back north?"

"No. She wishes to become Marth's queen now," King Ganon explained, his teeth grinding on themselves. As usual, the King could not hide the fact that he was heated, "The _Traitor_ of the Mushroom Lands, they called her. And I still accepted her to be my wife… Now, she pulls something like this, yet it still baffles me!" The King turned his gaze towards Kirby, "Lord Kirby, you knew Meta Knight better than anyone else here. Did he and Rosalina conspire?"

Kirby returned the look and stared the King directly in his brooding amber eyes, "Not to my knowledge, Your Grace. She could not have gotten far from Smashville. Everyone knows that the fastest way to travel to Sarasa is via the Ice Cream Islands in Dreamland, and Warden Dedede is away with the drama in the Mushroom Lands. If you bid me to, I can take my army to Dreamland and find her."

"I understand that he left the majority of Dreamland's troops at home," the King said with a nod. He looked at Mewtwo, who confirmed it by also nodding. Now, the King looked back at Kirby, "Take whomever you can and start fortifying the naval bases in the Ice Cream Islands. We should be expecting King Marth to land within the next two or three months, yes?"

"According to our intel, yes," Mewtwo, again, nodded.

"Very well," King Ganon said. Brutishly, the King turned back to Lord Kirby, who stood up in his seat, "Go back to Dreamland and find Rosalina. Once you find her, begin heavy fortifications on the southern coast of Dreamland. We absolutely must be ready for Marth's attack. If we're not, the Realm is doomed."

* * *

All night long, Luigi suffered from the berating of Samus and Peach. When they arrived back at camp following the agreement of surrender, Link virtually disappeared; nobody had seen him since their return. As for Malon, she stayed among the troops, trying to make sense of Luigi's _cowardice_.

The night was cold and wet. The next day, when they were to bend the knee to the Lords Sonic and Bowser, would be more of the same: overcast and cold, but not quite cold enough for the rain to become snow, or slush. Luigi sat behind a wooden table as Princess Peach and Samus paced around the room, taking turns attacking Luigi with much-deserved verbal assaults.

"We risk our lives for one chance at redemption, one chance at saving our home, and you had to go out there today and mess it all up!" Peach exclaimed, not even looking at Luigi. He did not make eye-contact with the two, just electing to look down at the dirt ground of the tent, "Luigi, we've been on the road for months—almost an entire year—scratching and clawing for a force that just may give us a chance!"

"Don't worry; like I told you earlier, I have _everything_ under control," Luigi began. However, before he said anything else, Samus interrupted him.

"Don't give us that crap!" shouted the former Lady of Dreamland, "You know damn-well that, the moment you bend that knee, you've condemned yourself to death. Let me ask you this: do you really think that Sonic will spare your life? I know that I will be executed if you bend the knee tomorrow, but do you truly have any idea of what a twisted sadist like Sonic will do to you, Peach and Link?"

"Well—"

"Luigi, think about Lauren," Samus said, almost pleading. When she said that name, both Luigi and Peach shot their heads towards her. Both were shocked, but Peach felt more betrayed than astonished, "What would she think about her dad if she knew that you are damning eight thousand soldiers to death? What would she think then, Luigi?"

The green-clad plumber did not answer her question. Instead, he stood out of his seat, shaken and slightly agitated, "How do you know that name?"

"Answer my question," Samus said, ignoring Luigi's. she stepped closer to him, her voice breaking and her chin up, "What would she think if she knew her dad's a coward?"

Luigi hopped over the desk, suddenly infuriated. He got into her face, with his head slightly tilted up and fire in his eyes, "How do you know that name!?"

Luigi's voice boomed through the tent. Before the situation escalated further, Princess Peach stepped between them and shouted, "Enough, you two! That's enough!"

As she pushed Samus back, Samus shoved Peach to the side and stared at Luigi, her anger boiling over, "You've damned us all, Luigi! We fought with you—men and women have died for you! And this is how you repay their sacrifice? I'll see you in hell, _My Lord Hand_."

After Samus stormed out of the room, Luigi leaned against the table and put his hands down, clinching the ledge of the table hard. With his head facing the ground, Luigi looked at Peach with his eyes and asked, "Are you done now, Princess? Or do you want to spread more of my secrets?"

"She's right, you know," Peach said, slamming Mario's hat onto the ground, "You've doomed us all."

* * *

The next day at ten o'clock, Luigi and his eight thousand lined up to create about ten rows, stretching around a thousand troops wide. Across the muddy terrain, and under the heavy rain, they saw Lords Sonic and Bowser horseback. Directly behind them was Warden Dedede near the front. The Warden's distinctively red robe became maroon from the freezing rain that poured down from the sky. Just as Luigi hopped onto a horse, the downpour subsided slightly; instead of buckets raining down, it was just drizzling. However, the field was still cold, muddy and wet. Just to the left of the meeting spot, where a noticeable decline had been the day before, there was a light brown puddle that had only grown from the downpour of rain.

"Come. Let's get this over with," Samus sighed, defeated. As she, Malon, Peach and Link strode out there, Luigi stopped his horse and looked at Link.

"Take them up; I'll be up there in a minute," Luigi ordered lightly.

Link nodded and continued on the path towards the meeting point. Samus looked back at Luigi, absolutely disgusted. She turned around as Luigi himself turned to face the troops, all looking far from ideal. Most of them were skinnier than they had been before because they were starving. Those few who were not starving were in the poorest of armor; it was either cracked, dry leather or rusted metal. He paced slowly back and forth in front of his troops. He took multiple breaths, then placed his left hand up his right sleeve. Out of it, he pulled Mario's hat; the hat had wrinkles and several creases from having it up his sleeve. Luigi stared into the _M_ , thinking about the night of the Wedding, as the other met the two Lords in the middle of the field.

"I hope you washed your ass this morning," Lord Bowser whispered to Sonic with a condescending smile, "It's about to be kissed by the fairest Princess in the Realm."

"That's why I didn't," Sonic replied with that same kind of smile. The two sides eventually met on the field and hopped off their horses. When they landed, they all could hear the sound of their feet sticking into the mud. As Peach, Link, Malon and Samus approached the two Lords, Link stepped extremely close to Peach. It was not until his _accidentally_ stepped onto her foot that she noticed his odd walking at all. "Watch it, Link!" she whispered harshly. Suddenly, she felt Link's hand join her own. However, he was not making a move on Peach; he placed Zelda's jagged dagger in her hand.

"Where's the Hand of the High King?" Lord Sonic asked as Peach looked at Link; she now understood what was going to happen, and why Luigi agreed to surrender.

"He's coming. Surely, you can wait another minute," Peach said, her face neutral and focused.

Back on the front, Luigi put Mario's hat back up his sleeve. He struggled momentarily but managed to fit the whole thing next to his arm. In the middle of his troops, Luigi stopped and looked at the eight thousand. The troops were quiet all morning, but now they were completely silent. Just as the four others put their knees into the cold mud, Luigi's voiced echoed in the silent field, "You've bled with High King Mario!" Lord Sonic's hand stopped as he was about to place it on Peach's head to symbolize his victory. In fact, every movement on the field stopped at Luigi's voice.

"Now bleed with me."

Suddenly, Peach plunged the dagger into Sonic's side. As Lord Sonic shrieked in pain and hunched over to his side, Link rose and quickly slashed his sword at Lord Bowser. Lord Bowser flew backwards and landed on his shell. Seeing his opportunity, Link leaped into the air and, with the Master Sword in the direction of the Earth, thrusted it into the beast's chest. Upon contact, Bowser let out a monstrous cry, which carried over to his troops, and to Warden Dedede's shocked ears. Their horses began running wildly with the echoes of the cry. As for Lord Sonic, Peach took the dagger out of his side, and grabbed Lord Sonic's armor. She jammed the jagged blade into his chest over-and-over again until they were on the ground. Samus felt strange watching these events play out within seconds of each other; it was as if she and Malon were paralyzed in bewilderment.

"Go! Go! Fight for your commander!" Warden Dedede's voice cracked throughout the field, then a second later, Samus heard something she thought that she would never hear again:

" _For the High King of the Smash!_ "

At full tilt, both sides sprinted at one another. One side numbered merely eight thousand, while the other numbered twenty-four thousand. However, Luigi's forces were more spread out than the fallen Lord's, and his wings were forward while his center was cocked back, creating a U-shape. Luigi's strategy became clear to Samus as the footsteps, and gallops, of each side gradually shook the ground more and became thunderous; cut the snake's head off and allow the rest of the body to fall. Now, Samus grinned sheepishly, realizing the genius of his plan. She quickly realized soon after that they would be caught between a spearhead ramming into another spearhead. After she grabbed Princess Peach off Lord Sonic's muddy body, Peach immediately pushed her away.

"Get off me!" Peach screamed hysterically, clawing out of Samus' grip and stabbing Sonic once again. No, the Lord of the Mushroom Lands and Hyrule gave no reaction; his body was covered in brown and red, his eyes looking up at nothing.

"You have to go now!" Samus shouted, grabbing Peach's bloody gloves, "They're coming, and you have nothing to defend yourself with!"

Reluctantly, Peach turned around and ran towards the charging eight thousand. Before she could make it back, a horseback Hylian stopped his horse harshly but quickly, and hopped off. He helped Peach on and shouted, "Get back to the camp, Your Majesty!"

She nodded in thanks and quickly rushed the horse back to the line, where she could see the battle. The two armies clashed with each other in the center, creating a stalemate. However, Luigi's side won the collusion on the wings.

Link dodged a spear and struck the charging Toad in the leg, sending him on his knees. The Silent Knight spun around, grunting as the blade tore up the Toad's back. After watching his kill fall, Link bobbed his body, countered the Hylian with a stab to the chest and turned left. Just in time, his shield absorbed the blow of a mace from somebody in front of him, giving Link time to pull the Master Sword out of his previous kill. He threw head forward, crushing the Hylian's nose, then cracked his sword against the Hylian's side. To finish his opponent, Link threw his arm across his body, destroying the Hylian's skull with his shield. Link wiped the blood off his forehead and then cleaned his hand on his drenched tunic just as a rain of arrows fell from the sky, killing almost everybody around him. And, without looking, Link got in one more; he thrusted his sword into a Blade Knight to his right.

On the flanks, Samus swung her sword downward, slashing a Waddle Dee across the face. After catching the axe of an incoming enemy, she launched her fist into the Toad's face and cut him down easily with another slash. She tossed him to the side and slipped the wild swing from a Hylian. She bobbed to the right, dodging another swing, and parried. Everywhere she turned in the field of battle, it seemed, there was an enemy waiting to kill her. Counter after counter, she cut through every single one as if they were made of butter. She must have been ten or fifteen kills in when she sidestepped a Hylian and screamed a battle cry, stabbing her sword into the enemy's chest, only stopping when she felt the guard of her sword touch his breastplate.

After Luigi himself killed his tenth troop, he withdrew his blade and looked directly ahead; the archers around Dedede fired another volley, but the Warden did not pay attention to them. He instead looked directly ahead at Luigi, whose face was covered with mud and grass. His armor was a mixture of brown and red, from the mud and blood from the battle. Luigi spun his sword around, his eyes piercing into the Warden's mind. As Luigi began advancing towards the Warden, Dedede turned and walked as fast as he could to the gates. Behind Luigi, Malon sidestepped and slashed a Hylian. After finishing him with a stab to the chest, she looked and saw Luigi running towards the gates of Mushroom City. She joined him as the flanks of his army met, effectively surrounding Lord Sonic's entire army four times over. The first layer of the surrounding army began pushing towards the center, slaying any enemy soldier in their path.

The Warden ran into the city, as fast as he could, screaming, "Close the gates! Close the damn gates!"

As he doubled over on the street just inside the gates, the blue-clad Toads did not move. They just looked at each other with confusion. Frustrated, and slightly scared, Warden Dedede exclaimed, louder than before, "I said close the damn gates! Are you deaf!?"

When the Warden turned around, he saw Luigi, Link and Samus standing in front of him. Directly behind them were Malon and a force of about twenty Toads and Hylians surrounding Peach. As Peach hopped off her horse, one of Sonic's Toads charged her with a spear. However, before he could even get close to her, a Hylian turned and shot the Toad with an arrow. And, when the Toad fell to the ground, all the other blue-clad Toads dropped their weapons.

"Fight, you cowards!" Warden Dedede snapped, backing up on the street. He did not get very far; as soon as he turned to run away, three blue Toads rushed him and knocked him to the ground. The Warden rolled over in pain, onto his back, and saw a bloody blade in front of his face. He brought his eyes away from the blade and saw Luigi standing over him.

"Dedede, Warden of Dreamland, in the name of Mario, First of His Name, Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, Liberator of Hyrule, Protector of the Realm and the True High King of the Realm of Smash, you are under arrest for High Treason against the Mushroom Kingdom and the Kingdom of Hyrule, and for the murder of Princess Zelda of Hyrule and High King Mario," Luigi panted as the rain showered down on all of them. He looked at the all the Toads around them and ordered, "Take him away."

As several Toads struggled with the winded and defeated Warden, Luigi looked towards the city. Although the day was grey, gloomy, and wet, it was beautiful to him; last time they were inside the city, it was being sacked by the army of Dreamland. Now, there was no fear in the atmosphere, only triumph. Exhausted, Luigi collapsed to his knees and bent over, kissing the ground below his feet.

"We did it," Samus panted with a smile on her face. She looked over Peach who immediately hugged Luigi when he rose. As they hugged, Samus put her arm around Link tiredly, in congratulations. Malon joined them a second later, looking up at Peach's castle in the distance.

Beginning to walk, Link grunted, as if he were trying to speak. Everybody else stopped mere seconds after they started to walk.

" _The High King of the Smash_ lives on," he muttered quietly, the grin on his face continuously growing.


	24. For the Realm

She must have been staring at that navy-blue flag blowing in the cloudless sky for hours. At least, that was Lucina felt like when she snapped out of her daydreaming. Since they left Sarasaland with the bastard Lilah in charge, the days were long and rather boring on the waters of the Orange Ocean. They must had been out on the see for a month, maybe two at this point, she did not know. The long, boring days on the sea blended together, for it was the same routine everyday: wake up, tend to the ship, train among the troops for hours at a time, make sure the crew was doing their assigned task for that day, find some time in between her duties to eat, then sleep. Somehow, she found a way to keep herself fairly clean and presentable, while her counterparts on the Small Council let themselves go. For one, she saw Roy sporting a thick brown beard and longer hair than usual.

She turned away from the flag and looked out onto the open waves and the open water. It was beautifully reflective as the waves crashed into the side of the ship, which seemed to be moving at a breakneck pace down the water. If there was one thing that Sarasa people knew how to do, it was building ships, Lucina thought to herself.

"Lucina," a familiar voice called behind her. She turned around and saw Marth standing in front of the mast, "We received a raven this morning."

"How?" Lucina asked, curiously. They were on open water, so how would a raven reach their ship?

"I didn't ask Roy how he got it, I just took the letter. If you want to know, by all means ask him," her King responded in an annoyed tone. Clearly, something in the letter had agitated him.

Lucina took the letter and saw a star on the sealing wax. When she opened it, and read the content of the letter, she looked back up at King Marth in shock, "Luigi and Peach won back the Mushroom Lands and Hyrule?"

"Yes, they did. I thought they were dead," King Marth sighed, turning to the bow of the ship. He looked out onto the sea, which seemed to go on forever, and grunted, "I expected that we would win back the Realm in it's entirety. Now, there are enemies in the north of the Realm. We will have to take the Smash Territory first then turn the fight to the Mushroom Lands."

As the King sighed and walked back to his quarters, Lucina stopped him by grabbing his arm. Marth turned around, a combination of annoyance and agitation expressed in his eyes. "Your Grace, we don't need to fight the Mushroom Lands nor Hyrule. You wish to be king of the Realm of Smash, that much I know. But, maybe you can just be the King of the Smash Territory and Dreamland?"

Sighing, the King responded, "What are you saying? You wish me to grant autonomy to two provinces, who, by our standards and Ganon's, are in open rebellion against both of our crowns?

"Would that be so terrible? Just think about it, Your Grace," Lucina explained, "By granting the Mushroom Lands freedom from the Realm, you'll have a very powerful ally."

"Send a raven to Mushroom City," King Marth said, "Tell Peach that we wish to negotiate a truce in Southern Hyrule after we take Dreamland. Judging by the winds and the tides, Lucario tells me that we will land a few days sooner than we originally expected."

* * *

For the first few months back in the Mushroom Kingdom, Peach and Luigi had much work to do. Because they were so focused on taking the territory back from Sonic, both of them failed to see how badly Sonic devastated the lands and the people of their country. After a few projects that brought back much of the farmland and villages that Sonic had pillaged, Peach could focus on other matters that needed to be addressed. One of these matters was Dedede. She had given him a trial, and she had sentenced him to die. As she sat on her throne, hearing the rains pounding against the roof of her castle, she looked down into her hands. There she held the old pin that Luigi used to where: The Pin of the Hand of the High King. When she heard the doors of her hall open, she saw Luigi walking in with Samus and Link.

"Your Majesty," Luigi said, bowing, "It is time."

Peach nodded and looked out of one of the windows next to her throne. The day, much like the day that they took back her kingdom, was grey and raining. She took a breath and left her throne. Just as she joined the three of them, she stopped at Luigi's side. Carefully, she placed the pin back onto Luigi's chest. Half-smiling gravely, she said, "After you, My Lord Hand."

The three exited the castle's gates and followed the road down into the city square. Just as they got outside, Luigi put on a large scarf that covered most of his shoulders but did not cover his pin. Peach had not noticed, until now, that Samus wore a fur cloak around her on armor to account for the cold day. Quickly after leaving the castle, a Toad carried a black cloak to Peach, which she wore to protect her pink dress from the rain. The crowd was mostly silent as they walked through a path that was lined with several Toads wearing armor and wielding spears. After about another minute of walking, they arrived at the execution block on the steps of a statue erected to celebrate the High King of the Smash a month earlier. Several more Toads wearing armor surrounded Dedede, who stood in front of a block of wood. Just to the right of the steps, Malon stood under a tent. Her red hair was soaked and looked almost as brown as the cloak that she had wrapped around her body. Link and Samus ducked into the tent and joined her as Luigi and Peach walked to the steps.

"Warden Dedede, you have been sentenced to death in name of Mario, First of His Name—" Luigi began, projecting his voice so the silent crowd could hear him. However, Dedede raised his voice and cut him off.

"Enough of this "in the name of the False King" garbage!" his voice cracked, "If you're going to do it, then get on with it!"

"Kneel, my Lord," Peach said through gritted teeth.

The Warden did not listen to her. Instead, Dedede looked up and staring directly at the Princess, who seemed to be growing exponentially mad, "I can see it in your eyes," Dedede began solemnly, "you want me to beg for mercy. You want me to show even the slightest bit of remorse for what I did, here in this city, in your castle. Well, _Your Majesty_ , I will not give you that satisfaction. I stand by what I did to your rebellion, what I did to that bitch Zelda. Just understand this: what I did, I did for my people, for the good of Dreamland. Had I not done it, Zelda would have taken Dreamland from those who rightfully deserve it. I can die in peace because I know that she is gone from this world."

"My Lord, I said _kneel_ ," Peach repeated herself. This time, Dedede knelt in front of the executioner's block, somehow silencing the crowd further. Just as two Toads holding a blue and red sheath approached Peach and Luigi, Malon looked away. Peach nodded at Luigi, who took gripped the hilt of the sword and pulled it out, revealing the rest of his brother's sword.

Noticing this, Dedede chuckled, "I didn't know you were fond of _poetic justice_ , My Lord-Hand."

Luigi, unfazed by Dedede's comment, said, "Poor choice of last words," and swung down.

* * *

A week later, Luigi walked around the hallway of the castle, inspecting the walls and looking at the various paintings. He tapped a picture of a bob-omb, causing it to ripple a little. Luigi smiled and looked down the hallway, seeing one of the Toadette servants of the castle dusting something on the wall. Luigi walked towards whatever the Toadette was dusting and saw his brother's sword mounted on it. Under the sword, on a small gold plaque, read the words _Firestorm_.

Just as Luigi shook his head and laughed, he heard somebody next to him say, "What's the matter? Don't like the name?"

He turned and saw Samus standing next to him, wearing her Zero Suit with her sword at her side. Luigi kept shaking his head and turned back to the mounted sword. "No, it's a fine name," Luigi said, "It's just… My brother wasn't the type of man that would _name_ his sword."

"Well, what's wrong with naming swords?" Samus asked, curiously. It seemed that she was pretending to be slightly offended.

Catching on, Luigi said, "Nothing's wrong with it. My problem with it is that naming swords is kind of… Pretentious."

"Fair point," Samus nodded, still looking at Luigi. She tapped him on the shoulder and said, "You know, we never did talk about what happened that night… The eve before the Battle of Mushroom City."

"We've both been too busy," Luigi sighed, turning to her, "I just assumed that Peach told you about Lauren. Well, all she knows, anyway."

"I just wanted to apologize for… You know, going _there_ ," Samus said regretfully while she looked down at her feet, "It must be a very personal thing to you, and I—"

Softly, Luigi held a finger in front of her mouth. She stopped talking and looked up at Luigi, who looked as forgiving as somebody could, "I know. Really, I deserved it; I mean, from what you knew, I condemned you to death. I'm surprised that you didn't kill me yourself that night."

After they both laughed slightly, Luigi looked back at her and continued, "I should've told you about my plan. The only person that I told was Link. And, since he could barely talk, I didn't worry about him telling anybody else about it until it was _time_ to act. I'm sorry that I didn't trust you."

"The only thing that matters is that we're alive and that we won, I suppose," Samus responded with a small smile, "And, I also failed to ask you about Sarasaland…"

"You heard?" Luigi said, sighing sadly.

"I'm sorry, My Lord-Hand," Samus nodded respectfully, "I know that she was the only woman you ever truly loved."

With a nod of his head, Luigi turned in the direction of Peach's great hall, thinking. After a brief pause, Luigi responded, "I loved Daisy, I truly did. But, in hindsight, we stopped loving each other long ago. For all this time, since I last saw her, I did not love her anymore. I loved the _concept_ of loving her like I once did. And that made me blind to an opportunity that I should've jumped at."

Noticing something about his nature, Samus was drawn to him suddenly. She approached him smoothly as he looked away. When he felt her at his side, she asked, "And what opportunity was that?"

"Marrying you," Luigi said sadly, "Sure, we were two pawns in a greater game at the time, but it was an opportunity of a lifetime: to be married to a girl like you. I could only imagine where we would be now, if I had this realization before my Flower Princess' death. I could've been yours, and you could've been mine and only mine. Maybe we could've found something truly beautiful in this war-torn world."

"Maybe we still can."

* * *

As Peach conversed with Malon about the future of Hyrule, a Toad burst into the great hall, panting and wheezing. The Toad fell onto his face as a letter dropped out of his hand and onto the floor. Sympathetically, Malon ran over and helped the Toad up. From her throne, Peach could see the Toads' small face burning up from the mad sprint that he had just finished. As several other Toads helped him back onto his feet, Malon walked back to the throne with the letter in hand. "What is it?" Peach asked.

"A letter," Malon said, examining the sealing wax, "It has an odd emblem on it… It looks like a sword."

Once Malon handed the letter to Peach, she saw the emblem and immediately recognized it. Her eyes grew, and her jaw nearly dropped, "Marth…?" Like a mad woman, she shot her head back up towards Malon, "Get the Hand of the Princess and the rest of my council! This is urgent."

Malon nodded. She walked down the steps and into a nearby hallway, once she turned the corner, she saw something odd: Samus and Luigi held each other and had their faces buried into one another's. Surprised, she jumped back and saw that they did not notice her, for they kept going. When she cleared her throat, they stopped suddenly and jumped away from each other. Awkwardly, Malon smiled, "Um… The Princess has demanded a council meeting… Right now…"

* * *

"An alliance?" Luigi said as he paced around the chamber of Peach's small council. The room was large, consisting of a wooden table and several paintings and portraits lining the walls, "Does Marth go into any details?"

"It says here that his current offer is that the Mushroom Kingdom will be autonomous, but Hyrule will not," Peach said while she sat down at the head of the table. She put the letter down and turned back to Luigi, "He knows that he has leverage with Hyrule because Zelda was the last descendant of the Hyrule Royal Family. There's no more king's blood in Hyrule, so he can use it to his advantage."

"We still should negotiate," Malon recommended from a seat adjacent to Peach and across from Samus, "We're lucky that Ganon has been preparing for his invasion, because he would've made a play for Hyrule if he were not busy."

"I don't like this," Princess Peach sighed, "We need to be here; this is our home, My Lord-Hand, and we've already been gone for too long."

"Somebody still has to go," Luigi said, with a heavy, tired sigh, "How about I go with Samus and Malon? You and Link stay here and keep rebuilding the kingdom that Sonic tore down."

"If you die while you're down there, I'll kill you myself," Peach warned Luigi anxiously, "I cannot lose you too."

"We won't die, Your Majesty," Samus assured. She turned to Luigi, who was already standing up from his pacing, "We'll take a day to prepare for the road, then we leave here with a hundred troops in the morning the day after next."

"Take a thousand," Peach advised anxiously, "I will not let three members of my council be vulnerable."

* * *

After she washed up to get ready for yet another day at sea, Lucina walked out to the main deck of the ship. As she looked behind her at those trailing her, she saw Fox McCloud and Pit approach her from her left. Lucina quickly turned and greeted them with a nod of her head. "Fox. Pit. How can I help you?" she asked.

"My Lady-Hand, I just want you to know that the Steel Foxes fight for you," Fox said, "Ness told me about your conversations about The Great Fairy."

"Is that right?" Lucina asked, looking at the slightly cloudy day around them, "What about them specifically?"

"He told us that he believes that The Great Fairy thinks you are the rightful ruler of the Realm of Smash," Pit answered, "It makes sense, when considering that she brought you back for a reason."

Surprised, Lucina looked at the two skeptically, "I am no monarch. I serve the man that I believe should rule the Realm of Smash. Marth is a good person with good morals; he knows how to rule because it's in his blood."

"Blood does not matter, Lucina," Fox said, stepping closer to her, "The Great Fairy does not believe in bloodlines nor birth right. She has blessed you with the gift of live again because she believes you are worthy of being a queen. Do you not see it? She has given you _divine_ right, and that trumps birth right every time."

Lucina shook her head. Her voice became agitated and defensive, "I will not betray the man I am sworn to protect and honor, Fox. I do not care what your Brotherhood believes in. If you fight with us, then you fight for Marth. Next time you converse with your Great Fairy Goddess, tell her that I cannot be a queen because I serve the _rightful_ king of this Realm."

As Lucina walked away from the two of them, Pit spoke up, "We will fight for your king, Lucina, but remember this: if you run away from your destiny, there will be a reckoning with consequences you cannot fathom."


	25. The Battle of Dreamland

After King Ganon dispatched Kirby to locate his traitor Queen and begin defense preparations on the southern coast of Dreamland, the Lord of Green Greens lead his three thousand into the territory. Just like he planned, Rosalina met him near the castle Ostia, which lay in the great Plain that acted as the Border of Dreamland and the Smash Territory. The castle, however, was on the Dreamland side of the Border. Once she and Kirby regrouped near Ostia, which lay abandoned in it's Lord, Wolf's, absence, Kirby addressed his soldiers and told them of their plan.

A few weeks went by; although the journey to the southern Vegetable Valley and Ice Cream Islands, which lay a few kilometers beyond the Valley, was a short trip, Kirby tried to manipulate the timing of their arrival. He figured, in his own scheming mind, that it must be perfectly timed. Even if it were to be off by a minute, Kirby thought, they would have to improvise, and the death toll would be far higher than it had to. In the meantime, Rosalina suggested that Kirby's army stay a long _comfortable_ distance away from the to-be landing spots of the Rightful King.

"My Lord, we have received a raven from the naval bases of the Ice Cream Islands," a Waddle Dee announced as he approached Kirby. The Lord had been looking across the rolling hills of the Vegetable Valley, making out the faint beige color of the beaches and blue color of the ocean just on the edge of his vision. Perhaps it would be a few more hours, three or four at a push.

Kirby adjusted his green cap and took the letter with his stubby hands. When the Waddle Dee walked back to join the other soldiers, Kirby put one hand on his sword and read the letter with the other. He quickly scanned through it and, near instinctively, crumpled it with both of his hands. Almost emotionless, Kirby strode back towards his army's camp and found a cooking fire which several of his men surrounded. As the soldiers waited for their meal anxiously, Kirby tossed the letter into the flames. He looked up and saw Rosalina behind them. Taking his time, Kirby walked over to her and whispered something. Like Kirby, the news did not seem to affect her. She only nodded and walked away.

Just then, Kirby raised his voice to address his soldiers, "Your meals will have to wait; King Marth has just begun his invasion."

* * *

Roy's ship was met with little resistance on the sands of the first of the Ice Cream Islands. Easily, Marth's men, clad in new stylized purple armor, stormed the beach and speared through the ill-prepared Dreamland defenses. On the island, Roy cut through a Blade Knight's armor and knocked him to the ground with a swipe at the head. Smiling, King Marth turned away from that assault, electing to look at the second of the Ice Cream Islands. From the main deck of the ship, Marth saw Robin lead a force out of one of the other ships. Following Robin were a few Smashers, Shulk and Greninja were the first two he saw. It seemed that this island was better prepared than the last one, giving Robin's unit a great-deal more resistance than Roy's received; the troops of Dreamland poured out of the withered pillboxes, that stood on each of the islands, and met Robin's forced head-on. Sword met with sword, steel with steel. Blood was shed, tainting the once precious sand with the cost of war. The sheer willpower of the Dreamlanders was felt by Marth's army, especially on this particular island. However, Marth could just tell by the _way_ the Dreamlanders fought. A determined bunch the army of Dreamland maybe, but a poorly trained bunch of warriors at that; once Marth's army overcame the initial shock, the Dreamlanders would become light work.

As his army battled to secure the islands, he felt Lucina come up to his side. Like her King next to her, Lucina gradually adopted a "no-sleeve" look to her armor in order to withstand the heat while being protected. "They were not ready for us, Your Grace," Lucina commented, watching the last few islands fall under Marth's control, "Where was this navy that our Little Bird had warned us about?"

Marth grinned slightly in amusement. However, his smile went as quick as it came at the sounds of a horn. Four massive ships arrived at their flank, having used the bases on the Ice Cream Islands as cover. Shaking his head, Marth remained calm and unsheathed his sword, "There they are."

Following suit, Lucina quickly took her sword from her sheath but stumbled when the front-most ship collided with their own. Many of the crew on Marth's ship stumbled too, some even fell overboard. However, they all rose soon enough to see Waddle Dees, Doos, Poppy Bros, and all enemies charging from the Dreamland vessel. Lucina stood up quickly and straightened herself up as Pit seemed to appear out of nowhere. The Steel Foxes had scattered themselves among the many ships Marth brought from Sarasa. Lucina looked to her left and saw both Fox and Mega Man engage the enemy on the ship adjacent to her own.

The first Waddle Dee leapt from the mass of his ship and struck one of Marth's troops in the heart with a spear. That same Waddle Dee landed atop of the body and led a charge into the circle that seemed to instinctively form around the King. Led by Pit and Lucina, the shield pushed back. Parrying a charge from a Blade Knight, Lucina struck him in the side then through the head. She discarded her blade, almost launching the Blade Knight's body as a result, and landed her sword in a near Waddle Doo. The Hand bobbed back and barely dodged the thrust of a spear. However, her dodge sent her onto her butt directly in the path of a Waddle Dee. Before the Waddle Dee could react, a blue arrow sung through the air and pierced the Dreamlander in the body. Lucina got to her feet and saw Pit behind her; the angel had his blade connected and used it as a bow, mowing through the seemingly endless number of Dreamlanders. When on her feet again, she began to fight a larger Blade Knight, this one with all black armor. Unlike her last kill, this one seemed well-trained enough to give her a bit of a challenge; she would try to be aggressive in attempt to create an open spot, but the Blade Knight would counter by landing a strike either to her leg or shoulder. After the third strike, Lucina became more passive. She and her enemy circle each other briefly before her enemy charged her and swung. She side-stepped, dodging the attack, and stabbed the Blade Knight in the back.

Just as Lucina looped back around to check on Marth, she saw her King take on several Dreamlanders, downing at least seven with a furious combo. His sword cut through the air, making Marth's movements look effortless. When she dodged a curved blade that was thrown in her direction, it came back to her and cut her horizontally across the small of her back. Lucina turned and witnessed the thrower be virtually erased from existence by a PK attack from Ness or Lucas, she could not tell who it was. However, she also noticed a Poppy Bro get shot overboard by one of Pit's blue arrows. In his fall, the Poppy Bro tossed a large black bomb onto the deck, mere feet away from the King. Panicked, Lucina screamed and tackled her King, shielding him from the ensuing blast.

* * *

Roy tossed his kill aside, seemingly the last of the Dreamland army on his island. This made him smile triumphantly as he panted. The companion that he was assigned to take the island with, Lucario, nodded in exhaustion and victory. The moment that the two of them relaxed, they heard an explosion. When they turned around, they saw the King's ship ablaze and partially destroyed. With that explosion, Roy felt uneasy as the tide of war shifted suddenly, favoring Dreamland. He and Lucario watched, almost helplessly, as a Blade Knight slay one of Marth's men just as three Poppy Bros, from the crow's nest, rained small bombs down onto the battle. Several of the ships ablaze began to capsize from the explosion. However, it seemed that the majority belonged to Marth.

"Oh no," Roy muttered.

Almost as shocked and scared as Roy, Lucario, dumbfounded, asked, "What should we do now? If this goes on for even another minute—!"

Suddenly, Roy's head shot up and his face relaxed, "The pillbox," muttered Roy, focused. He turned to Lucario and continued, his voice growing louder with urgency, "Go into the pillbox! Tell me what you see."

Lucario quickly obliged and ran inside the opened pillbox. It was dark inside, with not a lot being inside at first glance. From the outside, it looked to be built of iron, but it was actually built from very thick grey cement. Lucario activated his aura and, with the blue light, saw several cannons and gunpowder. Then, just to the left, he saw several large cases of cannonballs. "There's artillery, My Lord!" Lucario shouted joyously, "And lots of it, too!"

"What are you waiting for then? Take out those damn ships!" Roy responded.

Lucina slowly rose along with Marth. As they turned to see the chaos around them, Marth noticed that Lucina's entire back had been charred and blackened by the explosion. Her cape was almost entirely gone, and several spots on her light armor were cracked, opened and bloodied. "My Lady-Hand, are you okay?" Marth asked, concerned.

When Lucina turned around, Marth saw red bits on her face. She shrugged her shoulders and nodded, "Never better, Your Grace. Now, we have a battle to win."

The King chuckled in admiration. They continued to fight the enemy off, and, after Marth ran a Poppy Bro through with his sword into a pole, he heard a cannon fire. The King watched as the cannonball knocked the crow's nest off one of the Dreamland ship entirely. The chaos seemed to stop for a few second, until the next cannonball was fired. Then the next one. After the fourth one, Marth realized something; the cannons were firing at Dreamland vessels. They took the Ice Cream Islands.

Within a minute, the Dreamland vessels, or what was left of them, retreated onto the beaches of the Vegetable Valley. Marth looked on, his face covered in sweat. Lucina stuck her sword back in her sheath for the moment as their own ship began to move again. She panted and stood next to her King. Before she could say anything, the King grinned, "Now, we have them right where we want them. Get all forces off the Ice Cream Islands and have them on a ship. We're taking Dreamland right now."

* * *

From the main vessels docked in the waters, several smaller boats began their descendance onto the island. Each of the boats carried about twenty men, ferrying them from the large vessels made in Sarasa to the beaches, where the Dreamlanders set their defenses in panic. On the lead ship sat Marth and Lucina, who watched the defenses being set. The poor Dreamlanders had no time to add any obstacles that may slow the landings down, but they did have three pillboxes set on the green Valley above the beach. Just as Marth's boats came within range, the pillboxes unloaded their artillery; the cannonballs struck the waters around the boats, a scarce few landing direct hits on boats. The Hand leaned over to her King and said, "We need to take out those pillboxes, Your Grace."

"Take Robin and Ness with you if you must," the King nodded in agreement, "Those might be the only things to give us problems."

Lucina nodded and quickly noticed a large steel ball flying towards her. She ducked quickly, allowing the ball to just pass her head and knock the person directly behind her, Donkey Kong. The giant ape flew off the boat and landed directly in the Orange Ocean below them. Shocked, she slowly rose, looking at the water where he landed; war is absolute hell, she kept thinking to herself as she tried to brush it off.

When they finally landed, after what seemed like forever, the King led a charge into the stagnant Dreamland defense line. He hit the first swing of an axe away and grunted, quickly landing a counter into the shoulder of the enemy, a blue penguin. As the penguin fell, the rest of the boat followed their King, rushing the defense line with Battle cries reigning over the beach like cheers for a sporting event. As they fought to push the defense line back, Roy's boat landed, and they soon joined the charge. Lucina dipped back, killing a single Waddle Dee who penetrated their line, and found Ness battling a Poppy Bro. She assisted Ness by bringing her sword to the Poppy's Bro's throat. Ness relaxed momentarily, completely exhausted from the hot island sun before. Before she could find Robin, he found her by saving her from a hiding Kebble from behind. Now that she had her two companions, Lucina nodded her head towards the pillboxes. They ran towards the hill, finding a soft spot in the line.

The King's army had Dreamland on the run now. The defense line kept creeping further and further back as Marth's advance killed more and more of their soldiers. One by one Marth got his kills, cutting through the defense line with ease. It seemed that he would transition from his kills with one move: a slash here, stab there, swing here, countering parry back over the top. It kept going, as long as Dreamland's army stood in front of his. However, if the King were not caught up in his own bloodlust, he would notice that the cannons did a toll on his own troops. Any area near a pillbox had their advance halted by artillery. About twenty feet from Marth, Fox and Pit had their faces in the sand, taking cover from the heavy bombardment. They tried to rise, but more sand was splashed in their face. _Bang. Bang. Bang_. The cannons fired every second, ripping the sand of the beach to shreds. Marth noticed this and tried to redirect his assault to aid Fox and Pit, but a blast hit directly in front of the King. The force of impact knocked him onto his back as sand flew into the air around him. When the King rose, his ears ringing loudly, he saw Roy's blade catch fire as he tore it through a Waddle Doo. After Roy took down a Blade Knight with a slash, he ran to his King and helped him rise.

"Your Grace, are you okay?" he asked as the King got to his feet.

Before the King could answer, both of ducked instinctively at the sounds of an explosion. They turned around and saw the furthest pillbox from them engulfed in a fiery blast.

* * *

Lucina, Robin and Ness finally fought their way to the incline on which the pillboxes sat. Because there was only three of them, they decided to take one of the pillboxes individually. Robin entered his, seeing that none of the Poppy Bros inside noticed him. Silently, he began taking them out with his sword. After downing the third or fourth one, one of them turned from the cannons and screamed. The scream alerted all the others, who began to rush Robin in the scarcely lit pillbox. Robin was able to take them head-on, cutting through them with ease. It quickly became apparent to him: Poppy Bros knew their way around a bomb and explosives but knew next-to-nothing about combat.

He cut through the last one with relative ease. He then noticed one of the last ones preparing a bomb. Instinctively, he readied himself and launched lighting from his hand, striking the Poppy Bro directly. However, the electricity carried into the bomb and ignited the fuse, blowing it up. The small blast carried over to the large cache of gunpowder inside the pillbox, igniting it as the remaining Poppy Bro's eyes widened. Realizing what he just did, Robin turned and sprinted out of the pillbox, which exploded in a grand orange flame. The sound was deafening, silencing the entire battlefield. The flames reached tens of feet into the air, completely engulfing the pillbox. The sheer force of the blast sent Robin spiraling onto the fields of Vegetable Valley face first. He lay there for what seemed like an eternity, too tired and exhausted to move at all.

It was not until he felt somebody's hand touch his back that he jumped up, his sword ready to plunge into their chest. However, when he saw Falco, he stopped and leaned over, panting. "Keep moving, My Lord," Falco warned, "We've taken the beach, but the army still fight us strongly."

Robin nodded and followed Falco back towards the frontline.

* * *

By the time that Marth's army ran the Dreamland forces off the beach, the Dreamlanders fought in the bumpy landscape of Vegetable Valley. King Marth elected not to lead this charge, for he was exhausted. When he hung back in attempt to regain his energy, Lucina and Roy looked at a nearby hill just behind Dreamland's army.

"If we could take a unit or two around and up that hill, we can surround Dreamland's army and end this," Lucina panted, "Even forty troops, just enough to take them by surprise and make them feel surrounded. We could get Lucario or Pit to do it."

"I think it maybe too late for that," Fox interjected quickly, pointing towards the hill. Marth, Lucina and Roy followed his fingers and saw a pink puffball standing atop the hill on a horse. Clad in his green cap with his blue-hilt sword on his side, Kirby stood in front of his personal guard of three thousand Dreamlanders strong, "It looks like they have re-enforcements."

At the top of the hill, Kirby looked down at the battle with two Waddle Dees at his side also on horses. The sun hit Kirby's face directly, making him squint down at the fighting. "My Lord, the soldiers are ready," the Waddle Dee to his right informed him.

Kirby nodded and sighed, "Then it is time. Remember, no survivors. The only people in this province I can trust are the troops behind me; if even one of them lives down there, the King will find out."

"Yes, My Lord," the Waddle Dee agreed with a slight bow.

Kirby stayed atop the hill while his forces ran down. The Dreamland army did not turn to meet them, for they expected Kirby's troops to back them up. However, the Dreamlanders clad in pink armor attacked the same people that Marth's side did. This act of betrayal startled Fox and Roy, but Lucina and Marth looked on as the battle slowly progressed into a massacre. The King looked up the hill at the little lord and nodded his head. Kirby responded by turning around and riding down the hill the way opposite of the battle.

* * *

Once Kirby's three thousand arrived, the battle was over in minutes. The total annihilation of Dreamland's army littered the field of battle on the beach, islands and valley. Kirby hopped off his horse, with Rosalina close behind him, and saw King Marth and his Council slowly approaching him. They all looked regal and battle-worn, Kirby thought: The King's face was beat-red with sweat and his sword maroon with dry blood. The rest of his Council had cuts in the armor, their faces covered in a mixture of ash and blood. When they reached Kirby and Rosalina, Kirby bowed as did the queen. Marth bid them to rise.

"Your Majesty, it is good to finally see you in person again," Kirby said, admiration filling his voice, "I only regret that I had to meet you and not Meta Knight."

"Yes, I've heard about that ordeal," Marth sighed heavily, "Meta Knight was a good soul, you know."

"I had to do it, if I wanted Ganon to keep his trust in me," Kirby sighed as well, "Meta Knight understood that, even to his last breath…"

As Kirby began brooding, Lucina looked behind the Little Lord and saw Rosalina standing still, inspecting each of the council members individually. She cleared her throat and spoke directly at Rosalina, "My Lady, you know King Ganon better than anybody else here. What do you believe is his next move?"

Thinking, Rosalina looked down momentarily. A second later, she raised her head again and said, "As much as I do know him, Ganondorf is one of the most unpredictable men in the realm. He would ask his council for aid, which he is probably doing now."

Lucina nodded, slightly disappointed, then asked, "Well, in your opinion, what would his council advise him to do?"

Kirby, listening closely to the Hand's question, said, with a ponderous look on his face, "Ostia."

Finding the Lord of Green Green's response slightly confusing, Roy looked down at Kirby's green cap and repeated, "Ostia? The abandoned keep of Wolf?"

"Yes," Kirby answered, looking up at Roy, "I would advise him to man the border of Dreamland and the Smash Territory. And, because Wolf has a castle that falls barely on Dreamland's side, it would make sense to make sure that Ostia does not fall. The only stronghold between Ostia and Smashville is the stronghold of the Plain, which rests directly in the middle of Ostia and Smashville. If we were to attack Ostia, before Ganon's forces get there to reman it, we'd have a critical launch point into the Plain, then Smashville."

"Very well," Marth nodded. He turned to his team of advisors and spoke as clear as he ever had, "In a month's time, we attack Ostia. Get this placed cleaned up as much as you can."

His advisors nodded and disbursed, all except Lucina. Before Kirby could join his troops again, Marth called him over to a slightly isolated area on the green hills. Quickly, Kirby walked over to meet the King and his Hand. When Kirby reached them, Marth offered him a letter. On the letter, there was red sealing wax with a mushroom symbol on it. However, Kirby did not take the letter.

"I heard, Your Grace," Kirby told, "Princess Peach took back the Mushroom Lands from Lord Sonic and, in the process, executed the Warden of Dreamland. In all fairness, Dedede always had it coming, but he was always to arrogant to see it."

"It's not about that," Marth said, taking the letter back, "I do suppose that I could just tell you: we are seeking an alliance with the Mushroom Kingdom."

Solemnly, Kirby nodded and looked away, staring at the blue rough waters of the Orange Ocean, "I see. You do know that, the moment they find out that we're allies, they'll refuse to help your cause."

"I was hoping that you could either stay here during our negotiations, or you could apologize for what you've done," Marth suggested, "As much as your Wedding scheme did us a favor, it also cursed us. The people of the Mushroom Kingdom must think that, because you killed High King Mario in my name, I am responsible for it."

"Nobody knows my intentions except the people of your council and my army," Kirby explained, "Everybody in the realm believes me to be a Ganon loyalist; all those who learned about who I truly support died in battle today."

The Hand of the King sighed and turned to Kirby, who still looked away from them, and her King, "We cannot lie to our would-be allies during negotiations for a truce. What are we to tell them when they find out Lord Kirby has become Warden of Dreamland?"

"I can just come with you," Kirby suggested, "They may hate me, even wish to see me dead for what I did, but I know Luigi; he'll be able to see the _bigger picture_. If the Hand of the Princess is too blind by rage and vengeance to see that I am not the enemy, then they are allies not worth our time."

"Or you could just apologize, like I suggested earlier?" Marth said.

Kirby slightly laughed, "Apologize? There's a reason I ignored that option, my King; Luigi, Princess Peach and Lady Samus would rather see me dead than see an apology. In fact, I'm sure that one of them would put a sword through me before I could even begin to apologize. We're far beyond that point now, Your Grace."


	26. Old Enemies

"Your Grace, we have not received word from Lord Kirby," Mewtwo, the acting Hand of the King, informed as he strolled into the Small Council chamber.

To Cloud, it seemed that the Small Council got, well, smaller by the day. First, Lord Bowser went north with Sonic to "snuff out" a rebel force led by Luigi and Princess Peach. However, they were killed, along with the Warden of Dreamland. Now, after the north fell, Lord Kirby and the remainder of Dreamland's forces were not responding to ravens. Cloud was present in the room when King Ganon threw a fit after the fall of the Mushroom Lands. He even witnessed the King, in a rage, execute the bearer of bad news on the spot. Yet, Cloud did nothing. It seemed that he would have to do nothing again if his intuition were correct.

Sighing from the head of the table, Ganon said, "So, what you're telling me is that Lord Kirby has failed to locate Rosalina and, in the process, lost a crucial point to the defence of the realm?"

"We don't know if he's dead, Your Grace," Wolf, from the other seat on the council, said, "For all we know, they could be in the midst of a siege."

"In the midst of a siege, he says," the King laughed. His voice grew in anger, "How dumb are you, My Lord? After what happened in Sarasaland, you think Marth will take prisoners? And do you really think that those lazy imbeciles in Dreamland could hold out this long? If Kirby is not responding to our ravens, he is dead. And, if the Lord of Green Greens is dead, then the Dreamland army might as well be a cucco with it's head cut off; they'll run around aimless for a few minutes before…"

Mewtwo moved around the table and sat down next to his King, "Your Grace, you do not give the Dreamlanders enough credit; they are not as bad as you make them out to be."

Suddenly, the King slammed his fist on the table, shaking it violently. Everybody in the room jumped at the sound of his truly angered voice, "Then why were Lord Sonic, Lord Bowser, and Warden Dedede defeated in the north?! My Lord-Hand, do not test me right now. You should know better than that!"

Submissively, Mewtwo drew back and slumped down in his chair, "Yes, Your Grace…"

Cloud looked on as King Ganon stood up from his seat and walked to the middle of the table. He leaned on it and looked down at the map that sat on the table as Wolf and Mewtwo slowly and cautiously followed him.

"Ostia sits on the Dreamland side of the border," Ganon said, studying the map, "If we lose Ostia, then the only stronghold left between them and Smashville is The Plain," the King turned to Wolf, "Go back to your keep and take as much soldiers, artillery, all of that, as you need. Listen to me: we absolutely cannot lose Ostia."

"Yes, Your Grace," Wolf nodded quickly. He briefly exchanged a glance with Cloud, who was still behind the King's chair with an expressionless face, before he left the room.

After Wolf left, the King looked at Mewtwo and said, "Send word for one of the City Watch's squires. I do not care which one it is."

Mewtwo hesitated to move or say anything. Before long, he stuttered on his words before asking, "Why, Your Grace?"

"I need to relieve some… _stress_ ," Ganon grunted madly, pulling at the hilt of his sword restless, "Do it soon, or I'll have to settle for you."

With Ganon's last threat, Mewtwo was out of the room. The King walked back over to his seat and sat down, grunting and muttering words to himself as he became more and more tense. Cloud looked at the back of his King's garbs briefly and thought, " _You are no true king_."

* * *

After arriving on the other side of Death Mountain, which lay in Southeast Hyrule near the Dreamland boarder, Luigi dismounted his horse. Outside of the small wooden building, in which they were to meet, Luigi saw about four hundred soldiers in purple armor. The soldiers took notice of the northerner's _precautions_ , for they all drew back, surprised at the large garrison that traveled south. Outside of the building, Luigi saw Roy standing conversing with a Waddle Dee. Immediately, the Hand of the Princess tensed up, even reaching for his sword, but he felt a hand on his shoulder. Luigi turned quickly and saw Malon standing there.

"Don't, My Lord-Hand," Malon warned, "This isn't a trap; they need our help."

"That's exactly what I thought before," Luigi muttered, "It _not being a trap_. If this is not a trap, then why would Dreamlanders be in Marth's ranks!?"

"They need the numbers, I assume," Malon shrugged.

Not long after that, Roy approached the travelers. "My Lord-Hand, it's good to see you again," he greeted, "I just wish the circumstances weren't so dire."

As Samus approached Luigi along with five Toads, all holding spears, Roy nodded, "Lady Samus."

After Samus nodded back, Roy turned around and began walking towards the cabin, "I'm glad you decided to negotiate a truce with us," the others began to follow him as he continued, "I would rather have you on our side when we take the realm. If you were not…"

"Let me guess, you'd have to turn your forces to the north?" Luigi said, as if to verbally assault Roy. However, Samus and Malon stopped him from talking anymore.

After he stopped walking, Roy turned and faced Luigi, who looked incredibly suspicious of the situation. Not knowing how to react, Roy just said, "Well, it has not come to that, My Lord-Hand. Let's hope that it does not have to, yeah?"

After Roy opened the door to the building, the others followed him inside. There, they saw a long table with many different chairs. At the other end of the table, Marth, Lucina, Robin and Kirby were conversing about something rather quietly. When Luigi saw Kirby, he quickly drew his sword. It seemed that Samus had the same reaction, forcing the Toads to get combat ready as well. This action caused Malon to jump back and cuss. Just as Malon cussed the King and his Council rose, confused.

"So, this is a trap!?" Luigi shouted, looking at the Little Lord, "You've conspired with Marth to finish the job, Lord Kirby!?"

"My Lord-Hand, you have this all wrong," Kirby said, rising, "It's not a trap—!"

"Then why the hell are you here!?" Luigi shouted, his voice rising.

"My Lord-Hand, please!" Marth said, rising and his voice booming. He lowered it slightly and said, "Lord Kirby is on my council. He and Meta Knight were spies. Now, put your weapons away, please! We don't want to fight."

Seeing this tense situation, Malon approached Luigi and Samus, "Give them a chance. We didn't come all this way for nothing. Besides, we'll never be safe while Ganon sits on the throne."

"You weren't there, Malon!" Luigi screamed, "None of you there that night! You didn't witness the horror, the massacre, that Lord Kirby orchestrated: you didn't hear the cries; you didn't feel the arrows nor the cold steel; you didn't see your King, your own brother, murdered—!"

"My Lord-Hand, please," Malon said, getting closer to Luigi, "You are right; I wasn't there that night. But, I do see our opportunity with this meeting—more so than you all do, clearly. We _need this_ more than you can comprehend right now."

Reluctantly, Luigi put his weapon away. Samus was next, and then the Toads became at ease. It seemed that Marth could breath easier but only briefly. Luigi leaned back in his chair as Samus sat down next to him, then Malon. After Marth exchanged a look of anxiousness and surprise with Lucina, Samus spoke up, agitated, "You wanted to talk, so talk."

Marth leaned in and was about to speak. However, Lucina spoke up first, "We need you to pressure Ganondorf from the north. If you strike him at the Gerudo Valley, then he'll have to send troops away from Ostia."

"You're planning to strike Ostia?" Luigi asked, confused.

Turning to him, Marth asked, "You know of Ostia?"

"Well, I know my geography," Luigi responded, "Ostia is probably the most obvious place to strike from Dreamland. And, I'm assuming, after Ostia, you will strike The Plain?"

"Um… Yes," Robin nodded, "Is there an issue with our plan?"

"You plan to attack the lion in the teeth," Luigi said, turning to Robin. He, like Samus, was agitated.

Lucina quickly interjected, "That's why need support from the North, My Lord-Hand. If you could even draw a quarter of Ganon's forces away from the east—"

"We will do it," Luigi said quickly, looking down at his hand as his tapped his finger on the table, "Obviously, there's a price for our support."

"That's why we wanted to meet; what are your demands?" King Marth said, leaning closer to the table.

"A free Hyrule," Malon quickly said before Luigi could respond. Luigi and Samus looked at her puzzled, but she continued, "Ever since Princess Zelda was killed, my country has been in shambles. You cannot group two of the biggest kingdoms in the realm into one."

"We'll get there," Luigi whispered quickly to Malon to shut her up, "Just relax."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but who is this?" the King asked, almost with malice in his voice, "I do not believe that I've ever seen her before, yet she speaks to me with such anger."

"Malon, Your Grace," she said, turning to the King, "I'm a rancher's daughter."

"A rancher's daughter from Hyrule ended up on Princess Peach's Small Council?" Lucina said, ponderously, "Now, how did that come to be?"

"With all due respect, we aren't here to exchange life stories," Samus spoke up, "Perhaps another time."

Lucina nodded respectful, "Perhaps…"

"In addition to a free Hyrule, we want a Mushroom Kingdom that is completely autonomous from the Kingdom which you will rule, Your Grace," Luigi continued, turning back to Marth, "We can govern ourselves in the north; there's no need for you to have any power over us."

King Marth nodded, "I agree. Smashville is so far away from the Mushroom Kingdom; it seems silly for me to rule that far north."

Lucina cleared her throat, "But, Hyrule is a different question."

Surprised, Malon turned her head to Lucina, "Pardon me?"

"There is no more king's blood in Hyrule," Lucina explained, expecting this response from Malon, "Unlike the Mushroom Kingdom, there is no more King's Blood in Hyrule. Unless any of you have ideas of bastard children from Princess Zelda?"

"And why can't Link become a King?" Samus asked back quickly, "He is the bearer of the Triforce of Courage, is he not?"

"How does that constitute a claim to the throne of Hyrule?" Robin asked from the seat to the other side of Marth.

Shrugging, Samus said, "It's… It's something of merit."

"Besides, Link is a commander, a military leader," Lucina added, "Leading an army into war is an entirely different beast than leading a broken nation that has suffered from a tyrant."

"I do not think Link should be a King," King Marth agreed, "However, I do understand what you are saying, Lady Samus."

Turning their heads to their King, Lucina and Robin watched their King begin to explain, "When the war is over, Hyrule will be under my rule. However, when Link's first of kin comes of age, he will become the King, or Queen, of Hyrule."

Nodding, Luigi said, "And, I assume that he will learn how to be a "fair" monarch under your guidance?"

"Mine or Princess Peach's," King Marth shrugged, trying to make _some_ peace, "That part is up for the parents to decide. Regardless, the child will become a great ruler."

"That is something we can agree to, I think," Luigi said, looking at Malon. Sighing, Malon nodded, for she knew this would be the best that she could get. Luigi continued tapping his finger on the table, "There is one more thing we need, however."

"What is that?" Roy asked.

"Lord Kirby must answer for his crimes," Samus finished, eying Kirby down from the other side of the table.

All of Marth's council turned to Kirby, who looked up at Samus and returned a look of shock, "…Answer?" Kirby responded.

"You orchestrated the murder of High King Mario and Princess Zelda on my wedding night. Do you not remember that, My Lord? Or the fact that you tricked me into becoming an unwitting pawn in your master plan?" Samus asked, still staring at Kirby.

Surprised, Kirby turned to Marth and said, "Your Grace, I—"

"Lord Kirby was responsible for thousands of deaths in Mushroom City alone that night, Your Grace," Luigi explained, "That doesn't even account for the thousands who died in the Gerudo Valley. Now, after being elusive for so long, he must answer for all those deaths."

Kirby stood up and looked towards the other end of the table. He began, "You don't have to fight with me, My Lord-Hand. All we ask is that you pressure Ganon from the Gerudo Valley. We will be in separate theaters, but we've always been fighting for the same cause—"

Ignoring him, Luigi spoke louder, "The only way we pressure Ganon from the north is if Lord Kirby is brought to justice for the murder of my brother and Princess Zelda."

Immediately, Kirby seemed to snap from the built-up feelings of guilt and regret, "Do you think that, if Mario sat on the Throne of Smash, _she_ would let him give it up for anybody!?" Kirby took a breath, calming down as the room became quiet. He continued, "Luigi, Princess Zelda was driven by her desire for power: Mario would've been High King, and you his Hand, but she would be in control of the entire realm. You know that—You've always known that."

The room was still silent; the King's council said nothing as Luigi and the others seemed to be mad but thinking. Seeing nothing else to do, Kirby spoke up, "My Lord-Hand, you hate me. I know and understand why. But, we're merely pawns in greater game; a game that you forgot how to play the moment that dagger went through Mario's heart. In this game, people die because their leaders are blinded by pride. Just look at Lady Zelda. Before that wedding, how many had to die? How many Toads, Hylians, Gerudos, Koopas, Goombas—it does not matter—had to die because of her pride? How many more was she willing to sacrifice?"

Samus shot up from her seat and exclaimed, "Her pride had nothing to do with this—!"

"My Lady, she started all of this," Kirby explained, still calm, "She went and made Mario a king, then tried to overthrow Ganondorf. A noble goal, no doubt, but what of her intention? If her puppet sat on the Throne of Smash, she would get to control Dreamland. Zelda threw the realm into chaos because she wanted to control Dreamland."

"You lie!" she spat, her animosity rising.

"Ask your husband if you think me a liar," Kirby suggested, "He can tell you all about _Operation Nightmare_."

"Both of you stop it!" King Marth shouted, trying to defuse the situation. Both parties drew back as Kirby leaned close Marth.

"I told you that I should've stayed back with Rosalina," Kirby whispered, "If she were here, then we would be dead already."

The King sighed and looked at Luigi and Samus. Both of them still eyed Kirby maliciously. The King turned to Lucina, who nodded her head regretfully. "Lord Kirby, please wait outside," King Marth said with a heavy sigh, "We're going to have to talk this through."

* * *

"Exile? In Sarasa?" Kirby asked to King Marth outside of the building after the meeting. Kirby looked down at the dirt, both astonished and shamed, "You know that the Wedding was absolutely crucial to my trust of Ganondorf, right?"

"Of course I do," King Marth said, "But, we need the realm behind us if there will be peace after the war. You've done more than I could ask for, Lord Kirby; you've sat next to a psychopath for the better part of a year, you've killed for my cause, you won us the Battle of Dreamland. Take this not as an exile, but as a break."

"There are no breaks in war, Your Grace," Kirby said, looking at Luigi, Samus and Malon mount their horses. Dusk was just setting in, so the pink of the Toad's armor reflected much of the orange light, "Besides, after a break, _you come back_."

"You will come back at return to your seat as the Warden of Dreamland," the King assured, "Until then, relax. We have enough troops to take Ostia on our own. When we hit The Plain, we'll have the north behind us. A few years after we take Smashville, I'll send a raven for your return."

Kirby drew back, "A few years? Can you tell me how long "a few years" is?"

"…Ten," the King answered with a sigh. As Kirby brooded whilst looking in the direction of his home, Marth explained, "It's the least they would give me. You're lucky that Robin talked them out of an execution."

"All the sacrifices I've made were to help you claim your rightful place as the King of the Realm of Smash," Kirby replied, "It seems unfair that this is how you repay me."

"Just make one more sacrifice, my Lord," Marth said empathetically.

Kirby walked towards his horse and climbed onto it. Once he was on top of it, he looked at Marth. His eyes were filling with regret and sadness, "I'm taking my three thousand and we'll set sail for Sarasa tomorrow afternoon. It may take us months to get over there, you know."

"Take all the food you need," Marth said. Before Kirby rode away, the King turned to him and said, "I'm sorry that it had to work out like this. I am truly grateful for everything you've done, my Lord."

"Right," Kirby said emotionlessly before riding towards Dreamland.


	27. Ostia

Once Marth received word that their new allies to the north were beginning to mobilize, he called for a brief Small Council meeting. The King waited in a small room that sat on the naval bases that they had taken a few weeks earlier in the Battle of Dreamland. As he waited, his gaze fell towards the map of the south. The map began with half of Death Mountain in Hyrule, but it covered mostly Dreamland, the south-east of the Gerudo Valley, and the Smash Territory. It seemed that, if they were to take The Plain as planned, the war would be won; there would be nothing standing between it and Smashville.

Marth lifted his eyes from the map and saw his council slowly pour into the building. When the final member, Roy, sat down across from the King, Marth began, "Our northern allies have begun mobilization. The main army will leave tomorrow at dawn for Ostia."

"I assume we start to siege the keep the following day?" Robin asked as he leaned on the table.

"Most of us will," corrected Marth, "I need a group of troops, forty at the most, to go ahead of us. They will leave in a few hours."

Roy interjected from across the table with doubt in his voice, "Why so, Your Grace?"

"I have no doubt that Ganon has sent Wolf back to Ostia," the King said, "I need a group of people to scout out the location, any weak points or secret entrances inside the castle… Those are things we need to know."

"I'll send for some volunteers, Your Grace," Roy nodded before he rose from his seat, "Forty, you said?"

"…Make it twenty-five," Marth responded with a stroke of his chin, "The smaller the number, the better our chances."

"Yes, Your Grace."

After Roy left the room, Marth let out a sigh and looked down at the map silently. Seeing that they were done, Lucina looked over at Robin and said, "We should get ready to go. Check on our munitions, and I'll check in on our horses."

* * *

The sky was brighter than usual as Cloud relaxed in the gardens. With his hands behind his back, he watched the flowers dance in the light breeze, moving ever so slightly. He reached out and took one of them, bringing it close to himself to smell it. When he heard footsteps behind him, he saw a Gerudo in King's Guard armor.

"Sir Cloud," she said emotionless, "The King would like to see you."

Cloud nodded and walked passed her into the castle. He walked for a few minutes through the castle until he reached the throne room. In there, King Ganon sat on his throne with his elbows on his knees and his hands, together, over his mouth. It seemed to Cloud that his King was mulling over something.

"Your Grace," Cloud called with a bow of his head, "You wanted to see me?"

The King leaned back, into his thrown, and nodded, "Yes, Sir Cloud. I wanted you to check on the gates of the city, specifically those to the north of the city. Word has come from the north; the Mushroom Lands and Hyrule have decided to march once again."

"Have they coordinated with Marth's forces, Your Grace?" Cloud asked plainly.

Ganon shrugged, signs of frustrations breaking through in his expression, "I do not know, and I do not care. Ever since Kirby stopped responding to ravens, you seem to be the only person I can truly trust…"

Cloud nodded and turned to leave, as he walked out of the throne room, towards the courtyard outside. While he walked, he heard the King beginning to conference with somebody behind his back. The King spoke quietly, "If the city becomes surrounded—"

"Your Grace, it won't come to that," the person, possibly one of the Gerudo guards, assured with weakness in her voice.

" _In the event_ of the city being surrounded by the False King and/or the Mushroom and Hylian rebels, stop defending it and get back to the Valley with the rest of our people. I'll summon the ancient power and level everything. If I cannot be the King, _nobody_ will get to be the King."

Once Cloud was outside of the throne room, he grabbed the nearest member of the King's Guard he could find: a Koopa. Clearly, Cloud's sudden and strong grip startled the Koopa. After the Koopa jumped, Cloud ordered, "Check on the gates of the city, specifically the northernmost one. After that, report to King Ganon. If he asks why I cannot report, tell him that there was a riot in the Port of the city."

"But, sir—" the Koopa stammered, confused.

"It doesn't matter what I'm doing," Cloud interrupted. He turned back to the castle, going up the stairs and into the library. Although defying the King's orders, Cloud remained calm; Ganon never set a foot into the library before, so why would he now?

* * *

In front of Roy was the castle of Ostia, a sad-looking keep wedged between the final large hill of Dreamland and the Great Plain that rest between Dreamland and the Smash Territory. Roy began descending down the hill, leading a group of twenty-or-so soldiers, including Ness, Pit and Falco. The sun began to set on the water a few hundred feet from the keep, making the sky more and more orange by the minute. "It looks empty, Roy," Pit commented, looking at the keep.

"Empty or not, we still have to investigate any weak points," Roy nodded, "We should hurry up; I don't want to be outside in the dark."

A few minutes later, they were inside the keep. As suspected, it was empty and looked like it had been just that for the better part of a year. The walls were stone and the drapes and carpets thick with dust and dirt. In what looked like the foyer was the banner of Ganon's army. Upon seeing it, Roy took it down and spat on it. Falco studied the dark hallways of the keep and followed the staircase that lead to another dark hallway. After lighting a few torches, Roy handed one to Falco and Ness, who just entered the foyer upon being called in.

"My god, this place is a dump," Falco commented, "No wonder Wolf's never here… I'd be pretty pissed to be a lord with this as my keep too…"

"According to Lucina, there's three levels to this… Place," Roy said, "I'll look on the third one, Falco can take this level, and Ness, you'll take the dungeons below us. Report back here if anything is found."

"What should we be looking for?" Ness asked.

" _Anything_ ," Roy emphasized, "Be back here in an hour at the most."

* * *

During a long night in the library, Cloud put down a long encyclopedia of the Gerudo cultures. Sighing, Cloud almost put out the candle he was using in the dark library. He wanted to know what this power was that Ganon referred to. There was mention of the powers of the Triforce in said encyclopedia, but almost nothing of what that power _truly_ was. Hoping to find _something_ , Cloud grabbed the encyclopedia of Hylian culture, though he thought he would find nothing. To Cloud, there would be nothing of a Gerudo King in a book about Hylians. Maybe that was only because he was an outsider and never actually spent meaningful time in either countries. Anytime he was in Hyrule or the Gerudo Valley, he was travelling.

To Cloud's surprise, he found something in the encyclopedia: over the thousands of years of Hyrule's history, an evil came about every hundred, or so, years. A prophecy seemed to be prevalent in each given situation, yet it always seemed to be changing. In this changing prophecy, one thing always seemed to stay consistent; the evil that was resurrected. From the Calamity to the Twilight Crisis, one constant always remained, and Cloud became convinced that it was his King. As soon as Cloud closed the book, this ancient power became clear to him.

* * *

"There's a hidden system of tunnels underneath the castle inside the dungeon," Ness explained, "According to a map, it should lead to a wood on the Dreamland side of the border."

"Anything else?" Roy asked.

Before he could respond, the three heard Pit scream, "Close the damn gate!" before a two loud sounds: one was the gate slamming into the ground. The other one was something cracking against the side of the castle. Roy drew his sword and ran outside, seeing three more large stones crack against the walls of Ostia. Quickly, he climbed up the steps of the parapet and saw twenty-thousand soldiers outside the gates. At the front was Wolf in silver armor, looking on at this keep with a smirk on his face.

"We have your forces surrounded!" a voice boomed from the army outside the gate, "Let us speak with the False King, and we will not obliterate your forces!"

Roy crouched down next to Pit below their cover. Pit took out his bow as the soldiers around them looked on at the army with a few bows drawn and ready to fire. "He thinks Marth is here with us?" Roy whispered.

"I think that Wolf believes the entire army is inside his keep, Roy," Pit whispered back, "Just look at him; he thinks he has us cornered and the war won."

"How many troops does he think we have?" Roy pondered quietly.

Pit briefly looked over the cover, seeing another few rocks hit the castle walls. "What should we do?" Pit asked.

"Make twenty-five men feel like tens of thousands," Roy nodded, "I'll send a runner to the camp; we need to hold out long enough for our forces to come… Make them _believe_ that all of our forces are inside."

"How do we do that?" Pit asked.

"Falco found a cash of unused explosives inside the keep," Roy nodded whilst thinking aloud, "We'll use sparingly, though: we want to keep this as a siege… We can't provoke them enough to warrant an attack on the city gates."

Roy quickly hopped down and ran into the castle, where Falco and Ness stayed. "Falco, take Pit to the explosives and set them up on the parapets quickly. Ness, you need to use the tunnels to get back to camp and tell Marth that we're surrounded."

"But, they're over twelve hours away by horse!" Ness quickly contradicted, "I won't get there until noon tomorrow _at least_."

"Then you best hurry," Roy nodded, "Hurry up and get moving. The lives of everybody here are in your hands."

Ness looked at Roy with a look of doubt on his face, then back at Falco who looked equally as doubtful but also angry. When Falco caught Ness' gave, he returned it with a stern comment, "Well, hurry up and go! I don't plan on dying in this depressing castle!"

Ness nodded and turned quickly, heading towards the dungeon. The only thing lighting the room were the torches in Falco and Roy's hands. Outside, the full moon outside gave the soldiers some light. "How many people does Wolf have at his back?" Falco asked, hopelessly.

Roy looked on at the courtyard outside, following the dirt path that lead to the steel gate, the only thing between them and certain death. He answered, "Twenty-thousand, possibly more."

"Our best odds put us at a thousand-to-one," Falco muttered, his voice somehow becoming more hopeless, "I may have to change my plans; it looks like the last thing I'll ever see is this poor-excuse for a keep."

"We have to believe," Roy said, "If we can stall long enough—"

"How long is long enough?" Falco roared back, "We have enough food for a few hours! By the time we finish our food, even if we eat it sparingly, Ness will have _just_ reached King Marth. By the time they get here, we'll all be long gone, whether we die by starvation or by the end of Wolf's blade!"

"We'll survive longer if you show Pit where that cash of explosives is," Roy responded calmly. He looked up at the moon, studying the clear night sky, "If we all leave through that tunnel, Wolf's army will occupy the castle and turn this into another siege. However, if we hold out long enough, we can obliterate almost _half_ of Ganon's army. The other half, I imagine, will fall in the Gerudo Valley. We have to hold out…"

"You're delusional," Falco said, shaking his head.

* * *

By dawn the next morning, the walls of Ostia were crumbling. As one of the watchtowers crumbled when struct by another stone from Wolf's catapults. Just outside the gates, Wolf sat under a tent, calmly studying the map of his old keep. A Koopa went under the tent and told. "My Lord, we've destroyed the west tower. I'm sure we've killed a few hundred of Marth's forces."

"Very good," Wolf nodded, "We'll let them starve out and suffer for a while longer. The best outcome of this siege comes if we let them resort to eating the leather off their backs before we attack."

"Then what comes after that?" the Koopa asked.

Wolf shrugged confidently and said, "We storm Ostia, capture King Marth and his council, and massacre everybody else. I want to let King Ganon teach the False King a few lessons."

Just as Wolf exited his tent, which sat behind much of his own men, he saw an orange arrow shoot across the sky, striking an area between two of his catapults. The ensuing explosion knocked Wolf onto his back. When he rose, he saw the catapults destroyed and a large black spot where they once stood. "Get down!" Wolf shouted as a few more arrows shot across the sky. Several more explosions occurred, taking out most of the catapults. When Wolf finally rose, he saw several Koopas and Gerudos rolling around in pain.

"Get ready for attack!" somebody yelled.

"NO!" Wolf shouted, running to the front of his army. Everybody stopped in the madness as Wolf turned his head to look at the keep maliciously, "They _want_ us to attack them right now! They're playing games, can you not see that!? They are still healthy and in fighting shape! We have to _wait_."

* * *

By the next morning after the shelling stopped, Falco approached Roy, who stood regally atop the parapet. "Sir, we are out of food," Falco panted, "We have no choice but to retreat."

"Ness is on his way back with—" Roy began. However, Falco interrupted him with a booming voice.

"Roy, we are going to die long before Marth gets here!" Falco shouted, "What makes you think that we have a chance at survival!? WE HAVE TO RETREAT!"

"We cannot retreat!" Roy snapped back, "Do you not see the opportunity that we have right now? Wolf thinks he is starving out tens of thousands, not twenty-five! If we hold out long enough, the King will absolutely destroy half of Ganon's army!"

"There's a reason I joined the Steel Foxes," Falco responded, his face tough and unconvinced, "I chose not to fight in this war because I refused to be lead by idiots who are willing to let good people die."

Falco hopped down from the parapets before Roy responded. Roy leaned over and saw the scene below him: in the courtyard, Pit and a few other soldiers surrounded a fire where leather was being cooked. Roy sighed and looked out at Wolf's forces. As he though, he heard somebody say, "You know, if you cook it long enough, it'll taste just like jerky."

"It'll have the same texture as jerky, but it won't taste like jerky," somebody else, Pit maybe, corrected.

Curiously, Roy left his post and walked into the castle. He picked up a torch, that was already lit, and walked through the foyer and down a staircase. As he went down the staircase, darkness began to surround him. Finally, he got to the dungeon and followed the path down. Finally, he reached the tunnel that Ness spoke of. In the darkness of the dungeon, which seemed to be fit with black walls and black steel cells, the tunnels were eerie. To Roy, the darkness of the tunnel was far greater than that inside the dungeon.

Suddenly, the castle began shaking, seemingly struct by something else. It must have been the one of the few catapults that were not destroyed. During this, the tunnel shook even more violently. After a few seconds, Roy noticed that the tunnel began imploding. After a few seconds, the tunnel was no longer there; in its place, there was only stone. Roy shook his head and left the dungeon. He walked through the foyer with his head down as several more stones cracked against the walls of the castle. Falco saw Roy covered in debris and dust from the shaking. As the courtyard echoed with sounds of bows being released, Falco approached Roy.

"The tunnel…?" he asked, hopelessly. Roy shook his head, causing Falco to collapse onto his knees, "It's over…" Falco continued, "We're… We're finished…"

* * *

By the third morning, Wolf emerged from his camp and stood at a distance from the gates of Ostia. He smirked again, looking up at Roy, who brooded down at him. Just by looking at Roy, Wolf could tell that they were starving. Wolf's smirk continued to grow as Roy walked away from the edge. Wolf turned towards a Koopa who wore similar armor to his, "We have them right where we want them. Full attack."

Just inside the gates, they heard noises and battle cries outside the gates. Roy looked up at the sky, seeing the sun disappear behind some large, white clouds. As they were covered in shadows, Roy drew his blade, "Pit, get everybody you can down here. We need as much people as we can to meet them head on."

As they heard several footsteps towards the gates, the battle cries got louder and louder. Pit and Falco were beside Roy with their weapons drawn. The louder the cries and steps became, the more anxious the fighters inside were. They knew that, unless Ness was able to get to the camp, they were surely done for. Pit's leg began shaking, facing their certain death, just as Wolf's force began banging against the gate with a battering-ram. The metal began bending, cracking as it broke under the power of the ram…

Suddenly, it all stopped. Roy relaxed and stood straight up, confusedly studying Wolf's troops. More noises and cries ensued, as it seemed steel met with steel. A few more cries rang out and Roy saw some bodies hit the ground. After several minutes, the gate blew open. Standing there was King Marth, panting with a blade covered with red in his hand. Without hesitation, Roy met his King with a hug.

"Thank the gods…" Roy panted tiredly, "I didn't know if Ness made it."

"He barely made it back to us alive," Marth explained, also panting, "We got here as soon as we could, but the road was unforgiving."

Once Roy let go, Marth nodded, "Get everybody here to the reserves. Eat some food and rest. We'll handle this fight."

"There's nothing to be fought over in this part, anymore, Your Grace," Pit said, "You've taken Ostia."

"Wolf's retreated to the Plain," the King explained quickly, "Cloud said that Mewtwo has left to meet Wolf in Ostia. Now, they will meet in the Plain. Before they can devise a plan, we will be there."

"Then after that?" Pit asked.

"We will rest a few days before marching on Smashville," King Marth told valiantly, "But right now, Wolf's forces are on the run. We can obliterate them in the Plain, then we can take on Mewtwo's portion."

As they escorted the King out of the keep, they saw Wolf being restrained by Robin and Lucario. His face was bloodied, and his armor blackened and dented from the battle. The field around them was littered with Wolf's men, who were ambushed by Marth's. Wolf looked up and saw the twenty-five soldiers who were occupying his keep. As Wolf looked on tired and hatefully, Roy returned his gaze and gave him a smirk.


	28. The Battle of The Plain

The days on the waters began to blend with each other. Luckily for Kirby, the Orange Ocean was relatively calm as the winds never were too bothersome for himself or the crew. For his three thousand soldiers, King Marth had gave him five ships for the journey to their exile, something that the crew, and the Little Lord, were still trying to come to terms with. Deep down, Kirby knew that Marth needed the support of Hyrule and the Mushroom Lands to achieve a lasting peace, but his sentencing to exile hurt him nonetheless.

As Kirby sat inside the Captain's Quarters, a Waddle Dee walked into the room with a parcel. "My Lord, a letter from the King," the Waddle Dee announced.

Grimly, Kirby motioned the Waddle Dee to sit down one of the chairs in front of his desk. The Waddle Dee sat and placed the letter beside Kirby's green hat. While the Waddle Dee looked around at the various decorations on the walls, most of them left-over from Marth's voyage, Kirby opened the letter. He quickly scanned through it and placed it back on his desk.

"Is everything alright, My Lord?" the Waddle Dee asked, noticing Kirby remain emotionless.

"Both armies plan to surround Ganon's forces at the Plain," Kirby sighed. He thought for several moments, thinking about where he started his fight and now seemingly doubting it all: he destroyed his reputation in the North by killing High King Mario and Princess Zelda; he destroyed Dreamland's oldest historical site, Butter Building; he sat next to a psychotic tyrant for almost an entire year; he _killed_ one of his oldest, most trusted friends… All in the name of Marth. The Little Lord could not help but feel betrayed by his King. Kirby looked up at the Waddle Dee and said, "We can get to Smashville before they can."

The Waddle Dee looked at Lord Kirby with confusion, "Excuse me, My Lord?"

"The Koopa-Gerudo Army will be finished in The Plain… There's still a chance that we can get to Smashville before them," Kirby explained, "Tell the other ships to turn around and head east."

"Yes, My Lord," the Waddle Dee obliged. As he walked towards the door, the Waddle Dee turned and said, "If you don't mind me asking, Lord Kirby… Why are we going back towards Smashville?"

"We're going to kill a King."

* * *

Following their successful attack on Ostia, Marth's army chased the forces of Ganon eastward. Around them was nothing except straight plains, not allowing Ganon's forces to hide anywhere. All they could do is run towards the final stronghold of The Plain, literal days away from the final objective of Smashville.

The charge of Marth's army stopped when they saw the final stronghold. It looked like a mere watchtower, Lucina thought; to call a building with withering, seemingly rotting walls, one erect tower, and several destroyed ones, and no door a stronghold was a blatant lie. Sure, this so-called "stronghold" was in a strategic area, with Smashville days away to the east, the Gerudo Valley just over the rolling hills to the north, Ostia and Dreamland just west, and the Orange Ocean probably a day south. But, it seemed that King Ganon had forgotten about it during Mario's Rebellion.

"That's the Stronghold of The Plain?" Lucario asked as he stood in front of the army with King Marth, Robin, and Lucina, "It looks like a ruin."

"The Stronghold itself is nothing special," King Marth said, "Even before, when my ancestors ruled the realm, the strategic point was never the stronghold; it's the crossroads that it rests on."

Straight ahead of the four was the rest of the Gerudo-Koopa army, about two or three hundred yards away. The lands on which they stood was smooth and even, and the day was ideal conditions for a battle: sunny, warm with a light breeze. The sun must have been in the middle of the sky when Mewtwo emerge at the front of the line, only wearing a shoulder guard with many rubies on it. In his hand he had an axe and, in his other, he had purple ball, which seemed to form out of nowhere.

"Save him for me," Lucario bid, "I want to be the one to kill that bastard."

"There's no promises, Lucario," Robin warned, seeing the fire in Mewtwo's eyes, "I know that—"

"Robin, not now," Lucina stopped him, "We have a war to fight."

"Well, who's going to make the first move?" Robin asked, "Or do I have time to calm Lucario down? Because, if you haven't noticed, My Lady-Hand, neither side is moving."

Robin was right. For what seemed like ages, neither side moved towards the other. They just stood still in a pre-battle stalemated, waiting for one-another to make the first move. There were no speeches before, for each side did not need one: Marth's side was fighting to overthrow a tyrant and install the _rightful_ ruler of the realm; Mewtwo's side had to protect their king and their way of life from The False King. Neither side made any noise nor sudden movements, anxious to get this battle over with, but also too anxious to move a muscle.

"Charge on, My King," Lucina urged, whispering to Marth, "What are you waiting for?"

"You're right, My Hand…" Marth said, drawing his sword, "There's nothing left to wait for; we have a realm to win back."

The King turned to Lucario and nodded. Lucario, following his orders, waved his hand in the air. Slowly, the army marched towards The Plain. And, seemingly following suit, the forces across the way began marching slowly. Marth's pace picked up when he saw Mewtwo's. When Mewtwo saw Marth beginning to sprint, he began to sprint. Mere seconds after the two sides were at a stand-still, they were running full-tilt at one another. And, with the increase in speed came the shouts and battle-cries of each side. Eventually, the spearheads met somewhere in the middle: shield smashing against shield, spears being brought around the shields and into another soldier. As the bodies began to pile up in the center, Marth's army began to push forward.

Lucina was forced to jump over a falling Gerudo to engage a Koopa with a mace. The Koopa tried to be aggressive and strike Lucina first, but to no avail: Lucina easily reached him first and discarded of him quickly. She was forced to block a blow from a Gerudo, then dodged the next swing. At her next opportunity, she cut down the Gerudo with ease. Over and over, Lucina found, she discarded of anything around her. Eventually, she found herself surrounded with the fallen Gerudos and Koopas.

The King tried to parry a strike from a Koopa, but he missed his swing. His quickness allowed him to barely dodge the Koopa's strike, but he tripped on one of his fallen troops. The King fell to the ground and rolled on his back, just catching the Koopa's axe at the very last second with his own steel, mere inches away from his chest. Marth was able to push the Koopa off and, when he jumped to his feet, put his blade through the Koopa's chest. As the Koopa fell, Marth turned and slashed at a Gerudo with a giant Warhammer. She absorbed the slash, apparently just eating the blow across her stomach because she was not fazed in the slightest. If anything, she was more energetic.

The Gerudo woman rose and, to Marth's surprise, was two feet taller than he: she was one of the few berserkers of the Gerudo. She swung down at him, but Marth quickly dodged the swing. The Warhammer's impact on the ground created a large marking on the ground where Marth once stood. Acting quickly, Marth parried the next swing, but the Gerudo punched him in the face, sending Marth back down onto the ground. Marth slowly rose to his palms and knees and spat out some blood. When he jumped back up, he ducked under yet another swing and cut her several times in the arm. Finally, the berserker showed some signs of weakness. Marth grunted and tried to attack her once more, but the Gerudo struck Marth in the shoulder, destroying part of his armor and ripping his purple cape.

Robin had cut down several Koopas and Gerudos while defending his own soldiers. However, in his area of the battle, many of Marth's men fell victim to the sword. He saw King Marth slash the berserker once again, this time in the face, and quickly climb on her back. As he tried to down her quickly, Robin lost track of time, and felt a stabbing pain in his side. He fell over, clutching onto his side as he heard a Koopa shout in pain. The Koopa fell over next to him, holding a bloody dagger. Lucina grabbed Robin with the help of Fox and began retreating.

"Are you alright, My Lord?" Fox asked, panting.

"What happened…?" Robin winced, feeling the burning in his side worsen with each slightly movement.

Lucina set him down deep in their line, where they would temporarily be safe, and told, "You got stabbed in the side. The King needs you after the war, so Fox'll take you into the reserves."

"I need to fight with my King, Lucina!" Robin shouted, trying to stand up. However, the pain became sharp and he was forced to sit down and put pressure on his wound.

Lucina looked at his wound, which seemed to keep opening. "It looks like that Koopa got you right between the ribs… You need to go if you want to survive."

* * *

Lucario slipped his dagger into the side of a Gerudo and watched her fall. Just as she fell to the ground, he looked ahead and saw Mewtwo finish one of Marth's soldiers with a strike to the neck. Both of them, surprised to see each other in the middle of the battlefield, stared at each other momentarily. Mewtwo formed a shadow ball in his hand while Lucario cleaned his dagger with his other hand.

"You," Lucario said, sizing the other Pokemon up.

"Lucario… I haven't seen you since Ganon's Conquest of the Crown," Mewtwo said, matching Lucario's steps, so that they circled each other.

"You're a monster, Mewtwo… You brainwashed hundreds, if not thousands, of Pokemon and led them to their deaths," spat Lucario, gripping his dagger tighter.

Mewtwo scoffed, "They were soldiers. Are you mad that soldiers have died under my command? You do know what war is, right?"

"But it was against their will!" Lucario screamed, feeling his hatred for Mewtwo rising.

Again, Mewtwo scoffed, "You think that Pokemon truly have free will? Lucario, they're _animals_. You can't expect them to actual have complex thoughts."

"If they're animals, what does that make us?" Lucario asked, challenging Mewtwo once again as his dagger's hilt seemed to crack under his ever-tightening grip.

Before Mewtwo could respond with a smug reply, Lucario attacked him with this dagger. Mewtwo was able to parry this attack and strike Lucario with his free hand. Lucario backed up slightly, making Mewtwo laugh. Lucario calmed himself down and focused his energy. After a second of meditation, he opened his eyes and charged Mewtwo again. This time, Mewtwo was the first to swing, but Lucario, with his free hand, used his aura to deflect the swing, and he countered with a jab to Mewtwo's side. Mewtwo absorbed the below and quickly responded by raising his hand. As soon as he raised it, several shadow spheres shot from it. Lucario, again, used his aura to deflect and absorb that dark energy. Less than a second later, Mewtwo spun around and smacked Lucario with his tail. Quickly, Lucario recovered from the hit and faced Mewtwo again.

"Perhaps you're a better fighter than I originally thought," Mewtwo taunted, dropping his sword. Now, it looked like, he was strictly using his abilities to fight.

Across the field, Marth sent the final blow to the berserker. As he put his blade through her chest, a second time, she fell over onto the ground. Absolutely exhausted, and slightly wounded, Marth collapsed on top of her, his legs weak and tired. Seeing this, Lucina helped him up as soon as she could. Just as the King was on his feet again, several Koopas and Gerudos charged the King in attempt to end the war. Lucina had no words for her King, electing to just defend him now and talk later. It was not until Lucina cut through three or four of the attackers with strikes flowing seamlessly from one to the next when Marth snapped back to his senses. The King felt his adrenaline come back. Drawing his sword, the King joined Lucina; together, they cut down everything around them. Minutes later, it seemed, Lucina knocked the blade from a Gerudo's hand and slashed them in the neck. Then, she grabbed the next thing approaching her; it was Fox, who had another's blood across his face. Lucina calmed down and let him go.

"What is it?" Lucina asked, panting. As she looked around, she saw that was and her King were basically standing atop a pile of the fallen enemy.

"Look to the north," Fox nodded, pointing his snout in the direction of the rolling hills.

Lucina and Marth looked north and saw something: it was the Mushroom-Hylian army with Link and Samus at the front. Both charged down the hill, seemingly taking the Gerudo-Koopa army by surprise. When they reached the battlefield, they battered through the army's northern flank, taking down everything around them. Toads and Hylians alike cruised through the flank, swinging their weapons randomly at the ground, taking down whoever happen to be below them. Directly behind the initial charge, several Toads and Hylians shouted and cheered as they wiped up any remaining forces.

Link, he hopped off Epona and began fighting. It was just like the days of Mario's Rebellion: wherever he looked, there was a Gerudo or Koopa waiting for him. He swung the Master Sword valiantly, slashing a Gerudo in the chest, then a Koopa in the shell, another Koopa in the torso, a Gerudo in the leg and hip. And, just as a Gerudo tried to engage him directly, Link smashed his shield in her face and followed up by finishing her with a stab.

* * *

Lucario kept up with Mewtwo's every move, and vice-versa. Both were wearing each other down, to a point where neither had the energy nor focus to summon either shadow energy of their aura. Eventually, Lucario swiped at Mewtwo with his dagger, cutting off the shoulder guard. In response, Mewtwo quickly grabbed Lucario and sapped him in the face with the little shadow energy he could summon. Screaming, Lucario covered his eyes and dropped his dagger. Mewtwo doubled over and caught his breath and Lucario was forced to a knee, trying to recover his sight. A few seconds after he did, Lucario rose. Reacting, Mewtwo rose as well. They continued their fight, swinging at each other lethargically. Occasionally, one of them would land a major strike on the other, but their fight seemed like a slow dance nonetheless.

Mewtwo took down Lucario with another furious shadow attack. As Lucario fell to the ground, rolling around in pain, Mewtwo heard charging coming from the northern flank. And, when he saw the Mushroom-Hylian army charging down the battlefield, he stood there in disbelief. Seeing this as his opportunity, Lucario quickly grabbed a sword off the ground and sprinted at the disoriented Mewtwo. He ran the sword straight through the Pokemon's body. When he heard Mewtwo grunt and weeze in pain, Lucario collapsed to his knees and fell next to him.

* * *

"THE HAND OF THE KING IS DEAD!" a Koopa screamed in the chaos, sprinting around aimlessly, "THE HAND OF THE KING IS DEAD!"

Eventually, this Koopa was taken out by a Toad's arrow, adding to the fallen on the ground. Marth hung back with Lucina, noticing the tide of war shifting: without their leader, the Gerudo-Koopa army was in chaotic and in dissary. Easily, they saw Link and Samus lead the combined forces of the Mushroom Lands, Hyrule, and King Marth to the slaughter of the army.

As the battle hysteria and chaotic atmosphere died out, King Marth helped Lucario walk back to the reserves. As they walked, he saw Lucina talking with Luigi, who wore some armor and his Pin of the Hand, Malon, who wearing light armor, and Peach, who wore her pink dress. The King passed Lucario onto Fox and Robin, then he walked towards his Hand. "Your Grace," Lucina nodded, wiping the blood from a cut on her face.

Luigi turned to the King, noticing that the King's own face was bloodied and dirty from the exhausting battle. "It seems that we got here a little late, Your Grace," Luigi joked with a half-grin, "The battle seemed to be won by the time we showed up."

"Even so, you've accelerated the rate at which we'll win," King Marth panted, bowing his head. Weary, he spiked a knee and kept panting, "God knows we needed that…"

"My King, Princess Peach and her Hand were telling me about their own battle… Or lack of one," Lucina said.

Marth paused for a few seconds, catching his breath on the hard ground of the plain. Finally, he rose again and motioned for them to leave the battlefield, "Is that so, My Lord-Hand?"

"When we got to the old battlegrounds of The Border, there was nothing there," Luigi nodded, "The further we got into the valley, the more Gerudos and Koopas we saw, yes, but most of them surrendered. Apparently, they didn't believe they were fighting for a winning side anymore."

"Ganon's defeat was always inevitable," Peach interjected as they got closer to the reserves, "The only reason we didn't defeat his army before was Lord Kirby…"

"He is not going to be a problem anymore," Marth sighed, almost regretfully, "He should be on his way to Sarasa right now…"

* * *

With the battle over, Samus and Link returned to Marth's reserves that night. Most of Marth's army was taking shifts cleaning the field of battle and resting. Because of the scale of the fighting, Marth thought, he would give his men a week, maybe ten days, off before their final march towards Smashville.

Samus and Link entered a tent just outside of the main camp, where some soldiers sat around a campfire, sharing stories of their families and loved ones. As they entered the tent, they saw the King and his council sans Robin sitting around a table with Peach, Luigi and Malon. Once they took their seats, Marth put down his glass and spoke up, "A squadron of soldiers lead by Little Mac found the body of Lord Mewtwo on the battlefield this evening, confirming Lucario's kill. So, the only person that remains from the original Small Counsel of Smashville is the King himself."

"What do you suggest as our plan of attack?" Lucina asked, leaning back in her chair.

"According to Rosalina," the King began, "The best place to attack is the gates to the South. Ganon is expecting us to attack from the west and expecting the Mushroom Lands and Hyrule to attack from the north."

"If we all attack from the same gate, we could all get into the city," Luigi said, "What happens after we get into the city?"

"I was hoping you could tell us," King Marth responded, looking at the Hand of the Princess, "After all, your army was knocking on Ganon's doorstep long before mine was."

Leaning in, Peach said, "Well, I think High King Mario wished to surround the city and force a peaceful surrender… But Zelda…"

"Zelda wanted something else to happen?" Roy asked, turning to face the Princess.

"She… um…" Peach struggled, as if she was too horrified to say it.

Suddenly, Link cleared his throat. All the eyes in the room turned towards the Silent Knight, who did not break his broody gaze into nothing. He did not say much of anything at any given time, especially since The Border, but his groggy voice spoke up, "Sack the city."

Roy turned to Link, shaken by the mere thought, "Princess Zelda wanted to sack Smashville? She wanted to kill innocent people, burn down what is left of the history of the Smash Bros? You can't be serious."

"I mean… Princess Zelda confided in her loyal knight," Malon spoke up, "If anybody knows what Zelda wanted and had planned, it's Link."

"Killing soldiers is one thing, but to massacre civilians? To burn down their shops, schools, families…?" Roy argued, before turning to Marth, "Your Grace, we cannot—"

"We will not sack the city…" Marth reassured Roy, who seemed to now be relieved, "Nor will we demand a peaceful surrender. I will storm the city and sack the _castle_."

"We're going to have to fight the King's Guard through the streets," Luigi said, "Even from the South gate, the castle is probably a ten-mile journey."

"That's something we'll have to do," the King sighed, "I want to achieve an era of peace when I rule. I cannot be a peaceful ruler if I slaughter the citizens of my capital city, whether it is through battle or a siege. I know for a fact that, if we try to force a peaceful surrender, Ganon will just fortify his defensives for a siege. After that, he'll starve out everybody in that city, just as long as he survives."

"So, it's settled then," Luigi said with a smile coming across his face, "We're onto Smashville in ten days time."

Marth nodded, now also smiling, "And I'll take what's rightfully mine."


	29. A Golden Crown

On the tenth day of their camp, Peach exited her tent and was met by the famed southern sunshine. It was a different kind of feeling, the sun on the skin, in The Great Plains. The Mushroom Kingdom and Hyrule's weather was more consistent, but in the southern portion of the realm, the weather resembled Sarasaland more: constantly hot and dry. Yet, somehow, it felt more rejuvenating.

Outside of her tent, she saw Luigi conversing with several others—Samus, Malon, Lucina and Robin. As they talked, Peach approached them but felt a tug on her arm. Quickly, she turned and saw Pit. "What is it?" Peach asked, seemingly offended by the rude gesture.

Pit's voice was hushed, which confused Peach, "Your Majesty, the war may almost be over, but there is still something else you must worry about… You know, after the war."

"That is…?" Peach responded, still slightly stand-offish.

"Her," Pit dipped his head slightly, looking at Lucina. When Peach turned, she saw Lucina with one hand on the top of her pommel, relaxed, "The Hand of the King's negligence can be of potential concern in the future."

Peach faced Pit once again, still confused by his vagueness, "Negligence of what?"

"Of her destiny," sighed Pit, "And, because she refuses to believe and follow it, the Great Fairy will punish the rest of us."

"These… consequences you speak off, have you had them verified by something that is quantifiable?" Peach questioned, looking at the Toads playing with the dirt and rocks beneath their feet direct behind Pit.

"The Great Fairy is—"

"A religious belief, nothing more," Peach interrupted Pit, annoyance in her voice, "Now, I do not know what your beliefs are, and I do not care what you believe in. But, to say that one person's negligence of something abstract can lead of punishments currently incomprehensible is a bit far-fetched."

With that final comment, Peach turned and walked towards the others. Pit just stood in the same spot and shook his head. As Peach continued her walk, Pit sighed, "I fear that your ignorance will lead to wide-spread suffering, Princess."

Peach came up behind Luigi and nodded. Luigi bowed his head, greeting the Princess slightly informally, as did Malon, Link and Samus. Curiously, Peach posed a question, "Have any of you spoken with Pit recently?"

"Why do you ask?" Lucina asked in reply.

Shrugging, the Princess answered, "He just spouted some nonsense to me… But, I'm sure it's nothing."

"Most likely," Roy casually interjected, "Anybody from the Steel Fox Brotherhood is a religious nut nowadays…"

"Religious? In what ways?" Samus spoke up, uncrossing her arms momentarily.

"Something about the Great Fairy," Roy shrugged almost carelessly, "As long as they stay in fighting shape and help us, then I won't say anything to offend them…"

For a second, it looked like Lucina became concerned and slightly stressed. Quickly, however, she looked away, as if to hide her face from the others. "Regardless, they aren't easily offended," Robin said, ignorant of Lucina.

"My Lady-Hand, are you alright?" Peach asked, noticing this, "You seem—"

"Princess!" somebody called from behind Peach. Suddenly, everybody's attention had shifted to the voice that came from behind the group of them. Peach turned, along with her council, and saw Marth standing next to a woman, almost as tall as Samus, wearing a baby-blue dress: it was Marth's Queen-Consort, Rosalina.

"I guess this had to happen at some point," Samus sighed, feeling the tension of the air become thin.

Without speaking, Luigi and Peach began to approach Rosalina and Marth. Behind her, she heard Malon ask the group of people who that woman was. And, in response, none-other than the Silent Knight responded, " _Traitor_."

When they finally reached the Royal Couple, Luigi spoke up first, "Rosalina… It's been awhile…"

"Yes, I know," Rosalina said with a nod of her head. She tried to smile, but Luigi and Peach did not return it, so the Queen returned to looking at the ground or somewhere behind the two of them.

"Excuse me, Your Grace, but why did you think it appropriate to arrange _this_?" Luigi asked, not trying to hide the hatred in his voice in the slightest.

King Marth, unlike the Queen next to him, stood proudly and confidently, "This alliance is to be carried out after the war as well. Rosalina may be known as many things in your Kingdom, but she is still my Queen. Because you already knew that she was on my side now, I figured that it'd be in both our best-interest to… Have you two speak face to face."

"With all due respect, Your Grace," Peach began, also speaking with the same hints of malice as Luigi, "Rosalina is still _a traitor_ in the Mushroom Kingdom. If anything, she should be relieved of any and all of her titles, returned to my Kingdom, and tried for treason."

"Princess," Rosalina said, looking up at Peach and Luigi now. Both of them looked directly at Rosalina, who continued, "What I did was questionable, but you cannot possibly understand my reasoning as to why I did it. I had _nothing_ in the Mushroom Kingdom. I never have. But, I was able to rise above my station: I was a Smash Brother. A status that you took for granted because you already had everything you could ever want. After that was taken away from me, I was nothing again."

"Then you sold yourself away to an Evil King," Peach quickly responded, clinching her fist.

"I ran away to seize the opportunity I saw," Rosalina corrected elegantly, "Do not let honor cloud your judgement, Your Majesty: I had an opportunity to rise in the ranks of society, so I took it."

Peach slowly approached Rosalina, getting into her face. Before Luigi pulled her away, she said, "But at what cost? You left the Mushroom Kingdom, the people helped you get that invitation to be a Smash Brother for a power-hungry monster. You're nothing but a spineless traitor."

"Princess, that's enough," Luigi stopped her. Once he got Peach out of Rosalina's face, the Hand of the Princess looked at the King, "Your Grace, we will still honor our alliance in the decades to come. We may not agree with… Some of your council, but we can still live peacefully with one-another."

"For our people," Marth muttered with a nod of his head.

After they were a comfortable distance away from the King and Queen, Luigi looked at Peach, who still looked agitated. He took a breath and said, "We must get ready to go, Princess. The march towards the Capital begins in a few hours."

* * *

It must have been close to a fortnight since the disaster of The Plain, as King Ganon called it. Immediately after receiving word of Mewtwo's death, the King ordered the fortifications of the city; it seemed each gate was manned with King's Guard and the few thousand left from the Koopa-Gerudo army. Cloud stood atop a parapet at the north gate of the city, witnessing many Gerudo and Koopas stacking sacks of flour along the walls for the archers. Under the cooler late-afternoon heat, Cloud turned his attention away from the fortifications momentarily. Looking down towards the castle, Cloud saw many of the citizens of the city in the street, arguing with the white-clad members of the King's Guard. What they argued about, Cloud did not know nor care: all he saw was a city on the verge of collapse.

"Sir, they number in the hundreds of thousands!" a Gerudo said while climbing the same parapet that Cloud stood on, "How could a few hundred King's Guard members stand a chance?"

Cloud shook his head, seeing the waning confidence in his troops, "That's simply not true. They number closer to thirty thousand, maybe forty…" Cloud tried to reassure. However, it was a fruitless endeavor: for one, he did not actually know the number of the combined forces of the Toads, Hylians, and Marth's army; secondly, he knew that, unless they could gain more men and munitions, the city would fall within four hours.

The heat from the sun maybe Cloud sit down temporarily. As he reached for his water capsule at his waist, he heard somebody shouting the direction of the southeast gate. It was inaudible at first, but the voice soon shocked Cloud's ears, "LORD KIRBY HAS RETURNED! LORD KIRBY AND HIS MEN HAVE RETURNED!"

Cloud turned to one of his men and said, "Take the parapet. I'll go run word to the King."

As fast as he could run, Cloud made way for the castle. After several minutes of running through the empty city streets, Cloud turned towards the gates of the castle. He sprinted through the courtyard and entered the castle. Upon entering the dimly-lit Great Hall, he saw the King slouching in his chair with an intense, terrifying demeanor about him.

"Your Grace, Lord Kirby is alive!" Cloud panted, almost going down to his knee in recovery, "He and his three thousand men wait at the gates to the city. They wish to join our defenses."

Suddenly, Ganon's face lit up with hope. He stood up from his chair and smiled a devilish grin, "Excellent. Grant them permission to the city at once." As Cloud turned away, the King sighed in a momentary relaxation, "Perhaps it is not too late…"

* * *

Being too tired to return to the defenses of the city, Cloud sent one of the Gerudo stationed in the castle down to meet with the Little Lord. The Gerudo ran towards the gates of the city and shouted, "Open the gate! Open the gate!"

As the gate rose, Kirby entered the city. On his head was his signature green hat and at his side was his sword. With Kirby, several of his soldiers entered the city, calmly greeting the King's Guard silently. While the King's Guard was happy to see Kirby's army, and relieved that they had reinforcements, it seemed that Lord Kirby did not return that joy. Instead, he brooded while looking in the direction of the castle. Unfortunately for him, it was a route that he knew too well.

"My Lord, you do not know how good it is to—"

Without a moment of hesitation, Kirby drew his sword and stuck it into the Koopa who spoke. As the Koopa hit the dirt, Kirby's soldiers attacked; all around Kirby, the King's Guard soldiers fell hard to the dirt. Those atop the gate panicked and frozen in shock, but they were soon dealt with by Kirby's archers. When those guards around the gate were dead, Kirby spun his sword.

"Destroy everything," he ordered with no remorse in his voice.

* * *

Looking down from the balcony from which he stood, Cloud saw a small fire start at the gate where Kirby's army entered the city. Shocked, Cloud drew back. Near that, another building burst into flames, and soon the shouts and screams of his men, and citizens of the city, filled the streets. As more fires started, Cloud froze: he knew Kirby did not come to the city to quickly defect, but he had no idea that Kirby was capable of destruction of this magnitude.

In the streets, several Waddle Dees raided shops, homes and markets. Kirby witnessed his soldiers burn several buildings, kill the King's Guard members in the streets, and he even knew that some civilians would be caught in the crossfire. However, Kirby did not care, for he had one goal in mind. He began walking towards the castle as a Waddle Dee threw one of the vendors down in the middle of the street and executed him. Directly behind that, another Waddle Dee threw a Gerudo from a second-floor window, and she broke through a cart of burning fruit. The chaos around Kirby mirrored the violence during the Sack of Mushroom City, an event that haunted him directly after the Wedding. However, he was unfazed by all of this.

Up the street, a few Waddle Dees took out a Gerudo member who had just took down one of Kirby's men. She fought valiantly but was quickly put down with a few stabs of a spear. The same Waddle Dee tossed a torch to Kirby, who threw it through the window of a blacksmith's shop. As the smith burned, a few King's Guard appeared from the flames that seemed to engulf the streets of the Capital. They clashed the Waddle Dees and Kirby. However, Kirby's soldiers took the brunt of the damage, protecting their lord.

A charging Gerudo tried to knock off Kirby from his path, but the Little Lord dodged the swing of an axe and slashed his enemy. Nobody was stepping between him and the castle. Suddenly, around the Little Lord, what seemed like purple embers and debris began to rain down from the sky. It looked like it was coming from the castle…

* * *

Cloud ran down the hall, witnessing the last few King's Guard soldiers preparing to go out into the streets. Once those final few, who had been in the reserves, were killed, nobody would be left. As Cloud himself tried to think of what to do next, he saw a Gerudo running away from the throne room. However, she was not going to join her companions like the others: she was deserting the city.

Grabbing a hold of her arm, Cloud stopped her and shouted, "Where are you going!? The city falls to traitors and invaders, and you run!?"

The Gerudo shook free of Cloud and snapped back, "With all due respect, Sir Cloud, you do not know what King Ganon is capable of! If you did, you would abandon this hell-hole as well!"

"Do not desert your post!" Cloud roared but to no avail. The Gerudo was quickly gone. Suddenly, the castle begun shaking violently, throwing Cloud to the ground. Once it stopped, Cloud jumped to his feet and saw some purple embers dancing in the air, as if a massive bonfire burned inside the castle. And, when Cloud looked towards the throne room, the embers increased in number.

"Oh no…" Cloud muttered. Quickly, he ran towards the throne room, brushing any of the embers off as he ran by. Eventually, he reached the Great Hall where the throne sat: though it looked as it always had when he was in there earlier, spots on the walls were covered in dark purple, almost black, coating. Some even looked like it cracked with magma or fire. On the throne sat the King, clinching his fist.

"Damn that traitor! I let him aid my enemies under my nose the whole time…" the King muttered, seemingly flinching every few seconds. It seemed that he was losing himself, for his eyes glowed orange, and Cloud could feel the energy in the room become hysteric. The harder Ganon clinched his fist, the more the King's own mind began collapsing. Cloud tried to take a step towards the King, but the room shook again.

"Sir Cloud!" the King belted, standing up from the coveted Throne of Smash, "You've come to see the show?"

"Your Grace, stop this!" Cloud shouted, getting his balance. The pillars next to Cloud slowly cracked, then the same purple color filled those cracks. Cloud made his way down the stairs slowly as the vibration of the room became more violent. When he looked up from the ground, Cloud saw his King float into the air. Now, it seemed that he illuminated a mixture of white and purple, but his eyes were completely orange. Without any sudden movement, Cloud reached across his body to the handle of his sword.

"It seems that nobody in this realm thinks me to be a worthy King," Ganon shouted, his voice deep and angry. Slowly, it became more and more monstrous, "If my advisors don't die in battle, they betray me… Everyone I ever trusted wishes to see me dead! Well, if I cannot be King, nobody else will!"

The King lowered himself onto the ground and brought his fist in front of his body. As his fist began glowing, and the Triforce appearing on the front of his hand, Cloud drew his sword. He dashed for the King, who turned his palm out towards the door to the courtyard. The King screamed as Cloud stuck his sword through his back, tearing through Ganon's chest. Cloud did not move again until his saw the illumination of light around Ganon wither away. Cloud discarded the blade, then the King bent to a knee, doubling over with both hands over his chest. As the Little Lord entered the hall, he saw Ganon's final breath as Cloud stood over the fallen King, sword still in hand.

* * *

At the front of the army were Peach, Luigi, Samus, Link, Marth, Lucina, and Roy. They had lead the two armies towards Smashville. Although they were a few hours off schedule, they planned to set up camp then take the city the following day. However, as they came atop one of the hills, and saw Smashville for the first time, Marth noticed something peculiar: the city was ablaze, and the castle nearly destroyed. Just as they all exchange looks of confusion, the sun began to set.

"Your Grace, what is this?" Roy asked, shocked, "The city is destroyed…"

Looking directly behind himself, Marth locked eyes with Robin, who sat on a horse next to Malon. "Keep the men at ease."

Robin nodded. Those at the front rode towards the city, feeling the heat of the burnt city intensify the closer they were. Eventually, they were at the north gate, which itself looked like it had not been touched. When inside, they immediately felt an uneasy, eerie mood about the city, like it had just been through absolute hell a few hours earlier. Around them were the fallen troops of the King's Guard littering the street. And, in the air, the same purple debris rained down. As Luigi looked around, he saw fires and smoke in the distance, but this area was covered in ashes.

"Your Grace, who did this?" Lucina asked, aghast, looking at the burned surroundings. Just as she spoke, Luigi bent down to inspect the body of a fallen Koopa.

"I have no idea," Marth muttered in horror, "A coup, maybe?"

"No, Your Grace," Luigi said immediately. He came back to his feet as the others looked at him, giving the Hand of the Princess their undivided attention, "This Koopa was killed by _Sarasa Steel_."

This revelation baffled King Marth, evident from the look on his face, "Sarasa Steel? The only Sarasa Steel blades in the Realm are mine, Lucina's, Roy's, Mario's, and, formerly, Ike's."

"Well, I believe Zelda had a Sarasa Steel dagger," Peach nodded, "And King Ganon had one forged when he took the throne."

"That still doesn't add up," Lucina responded, "One of them is dead and the other is the man sitting on the Throne of Smash."

"There is another," Samus said, staring at the ground in disbelief, "Ganon had another one made… _For Lord Kirby_ …"

Quickly, they made their way through the destruction of the city in the direction of the castle. It seemed that the series of burnt buildings and burning buildings never ended. On occasion, there would be a few fallen civilians alongside the King's Guards that lay on the street. As they got closer to the castle, Link felt the Master Sword become energized in a way he had not felt in years. He stopped walking, prompting the others to stop as well. When he drew the sword, it began glowing. And, when it began glowing, the Triforce appeared on the front of Link's hand. Link spun his sword and sprinted towards the castle, causing the others to call him back in confusion.

When the Silent Knight reached the courtyard, he quickly entered the Great Hall and, at the sight inside, gasped. The others soon followed him inside and were shocked at the sight as well: sprawled out on the floor in front of them was Ganon. It was not until they saw the wound that they knew he was dead.

Link put the Master Sword away and closed his eyes. Peach and Lucina tried to get his attention back, but he seemingly spaced out and fell to a knee. Luigi, however, had his sights fixed on something else now, along with King Marth, Samus, and Roy. There, in front of them, was Kirby sitting on the Throne of Smash. On the steps in front of him was Cloud Strife, still in the midst of tearing his white cape off his armor in disgust.

"Your Grace," Kirby greeted. He hopped off the throne and walked down to the King and his council. After he descended the steps, he bowed as formally as he could. The King bid him to rise, still processing what he had just seen.

"Lord Kirby, were you not ordered into exile?" Roy asked, confused.

Sighing, Kirby responded, "Well, yes I was. But, I saw an opportunity: Ganon trusted me with his life. If I could get to the city before your army, I knew that I could end all of this."

"Your valor outweighs your honor, Lord Kirby," Luigi spoke up, angrily, "We had a plan to storm and sack the _castle_ , not the city. You killed hundreds of civilians, if not thousands with those fires your men caused. You've leveled an entire city."

"In the name of our King; in the name of _winning_ the throne back from a tyrant," Kirby corrected, turning towards Luigi, "You must know that you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink; how am I supposed to control the actions of every single one of my men during a time of war?"

Aggressively, Luigi stepped towards Kirby, "Is that what you told yourself during the Sack of Mushroom City? As families were ripped apart, lives destroyed, innocent people taken from this world, is that the little thing you told yourself to keep your sanity?"

"My Lords, please!" King Marth's voice boomed. Luigi and Kirby gave each other some space and turned towards the King, "We just got out of a war; another one is the last thing the realm needs… Lord Kirby, you've directly disobeyed my order and cut your sentence for your crimes short…"

Peach and Lucina looked away from Link momentarily and at the situation unfolding mere feet away from them. Seeing a tough decision, King Marth sighed and straightened up, "But, I would be remiss if I ignored your actions that, ultimately, ended the war…"

Offended, Luigi spoke up, "Your Grace—!"

"My Lord-Hand, though Kirby has done many despicable things, he still sacrificed a great deal for my cause," the King responded with a heavy sigh, "Dreamland sits in complete disarray, as does Hyrule, but… We already have a plan for Hyrule."

"This is unbelievable," Peach interjected, disgust in her voice, "We followed through with our end of the truce! And now you tell us that you cannot?!"

"I never said that," the King said, "Link's first child will still be the first king of a new Hylian empire, and the Mushroom Lands will be a kingdom again—"

"We made a deal to march on the Capital with you if Lord Kirby is punished for his crimes!" Peach snapped, getting next to Luigi, "Well, here we are! It's your turn!"

"I have no choice but to pardon him, Princess," the King said, looking at Kirby, "He _ended the war_."

Disappointed and angry, Luigi turned towards the courtyard and began to walk away. Following suit, Peach and Samus joined him. The King was about to say something, but Lucina stopped him, "Don't…" she advised, also slightly disappointed, "You've already said too much."


	30. An Era of Peace

"I don't see why we had to wait outside the forest," Luigi said, looking at the grassy fields around them. Directly to his left was a large, thick, mysterious wood that Link had entered a few hours earlier. Before he entered, and left Luigi, Malon, and Samus behind, Link warned them not to follow him: apparently, the Lost Woods could be treacherous and dangerous to those that have never been inside.

Without taking her eyes, or hand, off Epona's snout, Malon responded softly, "The Lost Woods is a dangerous place, my Lord-Hand. There have been some who entered that wood and never left."

"What's happened to them?" Samus asked, staring at the forest that seemed to stretch as wide as, if not wider than, Castle Town.

"Nobody knows," Malon answered, "My father used to tell me that those people would get lost in the mist among the trees. Those lucky enough to even find the Master Sword couldn't possibly find their way out."

"So, how has Link navigated his way in there before?" Luigi asked, turning to Malon doubtfully.

"He's had help, I assume," she shrugged in response, "Anytime the Demon King returns, he gets a calling from the Sword. At least, somebody will get a calling from the Sword."

"And know that Ganondorf is dead, the Master Sword is to be returned to it's resting place?" Luigi asked again. Just by looking at him, Samus could tell that he was skeptical.

Almost laughing, Malon rubbed the snout of Epona slowly and said, "Ganondorf is never truly dead, my Lord-Hand. If you knew anything about the history of Hyrule, you wouldn't be doubtful of his return."

"I do know my share of history!" snapped Luigi, who became slightly offended. Samus and Malon giggled at Luigi's sudden aggravation, "And I wouldn't say that Ganondorf is never truly dead. Sure, an evil comes about every century, or so, but—!"

"You've seen the Sword's reaction to Ganondorf firsthand, my Lord-Hand," Malon calmly said, still with the majority of her attention on Epona.

"But, he was already dead. Besides, Link and Ganondorf fought many a time before then, and the Sword never glowed like that," Luigi contradicted.

"That was different; Ganondorf had not summoned his power before," she said, "The Sword has only reacted like that a handful of times, my Lord-Hand. Link knew what that meant and went to go fulfill his duty as the bearer of the Triforce of Courage."

"And is any of this backed up by fact? Or is it all simply myth?" Luigi contradicted once more. When Malon stopped petting Epona and turned to Luigi, Samus could tell that this _discussion_ would be a long one.

* * *

Surrounding Link was endless sky, and he seemed to be standing in the middle of it. Though it looked like he should be falling into the endless sky, he felt solid ground beneath his feet. In front of a few fluffy white clouds stood his Princess, Zelda, in the same blood-soaked dress she wore at the wedding. Link looked in horror at the back of her dress, which was still that signature white and purple color. When Zelda turned around to face him, Link saw her dress torn at her shoulder, where the first arrow struck her. Her face and neck, however, was untouched and clean.

"Ever since that day, I've been keeping watch over you," Zelda said softly. Her face was filled with regret and, perhaps, some sadness, "Immediately after I fell, I saw your struggles in the Gerudo Valley… How you made it out of there alive, against hundreds of traitors, I do not know… When I was still with you, I knew that you always found a way to survive, even in the face of towering odds… The Triforce chose you for a reason…"

When Link tried to step closer to the Princess, she took a step back. Link stopped in his tracks while the look on Zelda's face became more sorrowful, "Don't… I'm sorry you have to see me _like this_ … I'm sorry that you couldn't be with me in my final moments."

Zelda stopped talking for a second as her voice started to break. Tears began to form in her eyes, making Zelda look away from Link, who muttered, "Princess…"

After a second, Zelda was able to compose herself. She straightened up and turned back to Link, "Now that Ganondorf is dead, the Master Sword must rest. Until another evil arises, it must stay hidden from the world. There are monsters in this world, Link., some have the capability of being as evil as the Demon King himself. When that evil inevitably rises again, the Sword will call for its bearer. You must make sure Hyrule is ready for that time, do you understand?"

Link nodded. Zelda sighed again, and turned away from him, staring at the clouds that danced around the two. "I know that you can lead Hyrule back from the ashes that I left it in. I know that your firstborn will be a great monarch… I… I'm sorry that I cannot be there to help you."

When Zelda felt tears begin to fall down her cheek, she violently wiped them from her eyes. She turned again, trying to compose herself, and saw Link kneeling before her with his head tucked. Now, she could not control herself; the tears just fell from her eyes.

"Lead Hyrule back to glory, Link," Zelda said, her voice breaking completely, "Something I was unable to do."

Link's vision began to fade into white as he heard Zelda's final words, "Goodbye, my Silent Knight."

When Link's vision returned, he saw a pedestal shaped like the Triforce. He heard the movements of bugs and the wind through the trees around him. The sun broke through the thick leaves above him in some spots, but most of the area was covered in light shade, as if the sunlight shone through the same leaves. Link rose from his knee and took the Master Sword out. He swung it around one last time. Gripping the handle with both hands, Link put the Sword back where it belonged.

* * *

Seven years after they took the city, Lucina saw an increase in responsibilities. It was difficult to be the Hand of a King that was not on the throne, but it was even harder being the Hand of a King that now sat on the throne of a country broken by war. Daily, it seemed, she was micro-managing: after Marth's coronation, Roy was named to be the Head of the King's Guard, Robin named to the Small Council, and Lucario put as a head of some position that Lucina forgot. However, Lucina seemed to be doing all their jobs for them. After all, the Hand builds what the King dreams.

In the aftermath of the King's wedding to Rosalina, they had a child; a baby boy with Rosalina's bright blue eyes but with Marth's face. Marth elected to name him after Lucina's father, Chrom. When the baby was first born, Lucina had hoped that their northern allies, who were still angry about Lord Kirby's pardon, would warm up to them. However, despite the fact that Marth secured his legacy on the throne with an heir, the north remained unmoved. As the child reached his sixth birthday, the Mushroom Kingdom still would not return their correspondence.

As Lucina walked around the hallway towards her chamber, Robin walked next to her, "The Mushroom Lands still won't talk to us? Have you tried inviting them to the Tourney next weekend?"

"Robin, the Mushroom _Kingdom_ has not sent a raven anywhere south of Hyrule in seven years," Lucina sighed, her voice slightly annoyed, "Your messages are falling on deaf ears."

"We can use Hyrule as a middle man, if you will," Robin suggested, as they turned a corner, "Lord Link can surely get through to Princess Peach, or even her Hand—"

"Robin, our King made a mistake by pardoning Lord Kirby," Lucina interrupted, turning towards him, "After the Little Lord's burned the city down, it took three years to rebuild. Even now, the citizens of this city are bearing the brunt of those consequences; outside the walls of this castle, thousands sit in poverty because Lord Kirby burned their houses and businesses down."

"It has gotten better," Robin contradicted, "Roy's told me that they have no ill-will against us."

"Just because poverty in this city is declining does not mean we should ignore the problem," Lucina argued back, "Look Robin, our King has done great things for the people of this city, and he's been in power for less than a decade. But, we still have a lot work to do."

"My Lady-Hand," somebody called from behind her. Lucina turned around and saw Cloud Strife standing behind her, wearing armor similar to her own except white and gold, "His Grace wishes to see you."

She nodded and followed Cloud through the hallways. They passed a few of the other members of the King's Guard, who slightly bowed upon seeing the Hand of the King. However, before they bowed, they glared at Cloud. When they reached a doorway that lead to one of the great hall's balconies, Lucina stopped.

"Why do your peers look at you with malice?" Lucina asked Cloud quickly.

Sighing, Cloud tugged at his white cape, "They think of me as a man without honor."

"Because you killed an evil king?" Lucina responded, raising an eyebrow with confusion.

Nodding, Cloud continued, "They call me a King Slayer, but it does not bother me: I knew what Ganon was capable of doing, my Lady-Hand. Their insults do not make me lose sleep."

"A King Slayer?" Lucina said, shaking her head, "I'll have to have a word with Roy about this, you know. You saved the Kingdom by putting that mad dog down."

"I broke a vow the moment I put my blade into his back," Cloud reflected, staring into the throne room. He relived that moment for a second; purple embers falling slowly, the Demon King floating in the air as he summoned his ancient power. The panic and hatred returned to Cloud momentarily as he clinched his fist, "There was no honor in the city that day, only suffering… There is no honor in letting an evil king destroy a city and kill thousands…"

After she entered the great hall, Lucina walked down the steps and saw Marth sitting on the Throne of Smash with a golden crown on his head. He slumped into his Throne as Lucina stood at the bottom of the steps that lead up to it. "Your Grace, you wanted to see me?" Lucina asked.

"Yes, my Lady-Hand," Marth said with a nod, "They say that the Steel Fox Brotherhood have began the Smash Brothers again?"

"Yes, Your Grace," Lucina nodded, "They operate out of Green Greens, under Lord Kirby's watch. Only a handful of them returned to that lackadaisical way of life, however. I know for a fact that Pit and Ness have stuck around here. Fox occasionally visits the city, especially for the Tourney."

"I suspect they'll represent their own banner at this year's tourney," Marth nodded. He stood up and said, "The real reason I called you in here today is a personal one."

As the King descended the steps of the Throne of Smash, Lucina looked around the room; besides a few members of the King's Guard, nobody else was in there. "We're having another child," Marth said quietly, "Rosalina found out last night."

"That's fantastic, Your Grace," Lucina smiled happily. The genuine joy on Lucina's face made the King smile as well, "Congratulations."

"I wanted to tell you what we're going to name him," Marth said, still beaming with joy, "Rosalina suggested northern-sounding name, but I convinced her otherwise."

"What's the name you decided on, Your Grace?" Lucina asked.

"Ike."

The sounds of the name made Lucina smile again, and her smile only grew larger. She embraced her King tightly and joyfully. She could not be happier for the King; with two possible heirs, it seemed that the Throne of Smash would never fall into another's hands. As they hugged one-another, a dangerous thought lingered in Lucina's head, a thought that traced back to Pit, the Steel Fox Brotherhood, and the Great Fairy: _if you run away from your destiny, there will be a reckoning with consequences you cannot fathom_.

Lucina looked brought her head up as Marth still held onto her. In the great hall, she saw Rosalina walk in with a smaller body next to her. The small child, blue of hair with beaming baby blue eyes, ran into the hall ahead of the Queen. Marth let go of Lucina and said something with a smile. However, the Hand of the King did not listen to it; she was stuck in her own head. When her King ran up to the child and picked him up, spinning his laughing son in his arms, Lucina shook her head slightly. Now, she began to fathom the consequences.

* * *

Immediately after the Sack of Smashville, Lord Kirby dedicated half of his now infamous Three Thousand to the city's reconstruction. Following his royal pardon, Kirby was named as Lord of Green Greens and Warden of Dreamland, being granted Castle Dedede as his new keep. His first project in his newly acquired castle was to tear down anything of Dedede's colors, replacing the red and gold banners with pink and red ones. Kirby had to admit that, before his death, Dedede was doing a decent job with regards to running Dreamland. All the Little Lord had to do was keep things in check.

He knew that the annual Tourney of Smash was coming up, so Kirby began to pack his bags and assemble his men. He had competed in a few events in the Tourney, which celebrated the King's triumph over Ganondorf, but he only ever won one event: the actual "Smash" event. Fondly, Kirby remembers knocking off Falco Lombardi in the championship round to win the hearts of thousands of spectators in the third annual tournament. The winner of the "Smash" event gets to crown somebody in the crowd as the "Queen of the Roses", apparently an old tradition in Marth's family. Kirby crowned somebody advocating loudly for it as his Queen, but he did not care about that; all he wanted was the glory of winning.

While he and several Waddle Dees loaded a carriage with supplies for the trek over to Smashville from Castle Dedede, he saw Fox and Falco walking up towards the castle. In the courtyard, all the Waddle Dees standing guard straightened up simultaneously as Kirby walked down the courtyard to meet them halfway.

"Fox, Falco," Kirby nodded, "How can I help you?"

"The Smash Brothers wish to use this courtyard as a place to fight," Fox requested quite formally, "We are aware that, technically, this is a keep of the famed Warden of Dreamland, but—"

"My answer is the same as it was _last week_ , Fox McCloud," Kirby responded, disappointed, "Besides, should you not be taking the Steel Foxes—"

"We're called the Smash Brothers again, my Lord," Falco corrected quickly.

" _Regardless_ ," Kirby sighed, "shouldn't you be making way for Smashville? The Tourney of Smash begins soon, and I do not know if you want to miss it this year."

"The competition's slim," said Falco, studying the courtyard with a calculating expression, "Two of the former provinces in the realm do not even participate."

"In the era we live in, let's all just be happy to be here and be alive," Kirby suggested, "There's no better way to celebrate that than by going to a tourney that celebrates peace and victory."

"Yes, but how long of a peace, my Lord?" Fox asked, mysteriously.

Sighing, Kirby said, "If this is about Lucina again, I'll save you the time, and the breath, and tell you just to leave my castle. Let's not make it come to that, Fox."

As Kirby walked back to his castle, Fox called out, "So, that's a "no" to the courtyard?"

Laughing, Kirby turned around and said, "You are a persistent little bugger, aren't you?"

Fox shrugged with a grin. The Little Lord gave in, "Okay, just a little Smash; nothing too big."

* * *

"Your Majesty, we received another letter from King Marth," an elderly Toad spoke in the middle of Peach's great hall. Even though it was painted like the skies above the Mushroom Kingdom, it was overwhelmingly grey and drained of color partly due to the rainy weather outside. In her throne that sat atop a few steps at the back of the hall, Princess Peach rolled her eyes, "Much like last year, we received an invitation to the annual Tourney of Smash—"

"It does not matter," Peach shook her head, "We are not going to break bread with them."

"But Your Majesty, they are not the enemy," one of the Toads in her court spoke up, "It's been years since—"

"They are not our enemy, but they have proven to be a unreliable ally," the Princess interrupted again, "It has been seven years since the Sack of Smashville, yet Lord Kirby remains unpunished for his crimes. We are not going to a tourney in the south that celebrates a day of slaughter."

After the elderly Toad left the hall, Luigi entered the main hall through one of the doors to the side of the throne. On his chest was the Pin of the Hand, but also a few other pins and medals, as if he were dressed for a formal occasion.

"My Lord-Hand, what's with the medals from the War?" Peach asked, sitting up in her throne, "I don't recall telling you to dress up."

"Well, I am supposed to meet _Lord_ Link of Hyrule today," Luigi said, "He and Lady Malon are coming up to discuss their wedding."

"Wedding?" Peach nodded her head, slightly interested, "If they are to be wed in Hyrule, why are they traveling to Mushroom City?"

"Mushroom City has some of the best wedding planners in the realm," a voice said from behind Luigi. They turned and saw Samus wearing her orange armor. When Samus was next to Luigi, she pecked him on the cheek, "Besides the obvious, I remember our wedding being a joyful occasion, my Lord-Hand."

"Fair enough," Luigi nodded, "Where's your dress, Lady Samus? This is supposed to be a formal event."

From the throne, Peach interjected, "She shouldn't wear a dress; she's not that kind of Lady."

"I was just about to say that, Your Majesty," Samus nodded with a cheeky grin.

A few minutes later, an escort of ten or so Hylian soldiers entered Peach's great hall. Following them were the Lord and Lady of Hyrule. The last time Luigi had seen Link was when he put the Master Sword back to its resting place, so to see Link dressed as a Lord was odd at first; no longer did he wear a green tunic with chain-mail underneath. Instead, he wore a dark green frock coat with beige trousers. He no longer wore his cap neither, so his long blond hair was visible for the first time around Luigi. Malon wore a white dress similar to one that was accustomed to the various Princesses of Hyrule, but she wore no gloves nor crown like those same Princesses. When they entered the hall, Peach walked down from the steps of her throne and hugged Link.

Luigi walked up and shook Link's hand, "Link. You look good as a noble man. This outfit is a far-cry from your usual dirty tunic and cap."

Link shook his head with a smile, even laughing slightly. While Luigi greeted Malon, Peach asked, "I was not expecting you until my Hand informed me of your arrival… Probably ten minutes ago."

"Less than that," Samus whispered still with a cheeky grin.

"It was a spur of the moment kind of thing," Malon nodded with a smile, "It was all Link's idea; he wanted to come up to Mushroom City for a couple of reasons, actually."

"Why so?" Peach asked, "I know you are currently planning your wedding, but I assumed that was the only reason?"

"Actually, I wanted you to meet somebody," Malon said. She turned around, letting Peach see a little boy standing shyly behind her. Half the boy's face was covered with the fabric of Malon's dress; he was trying to hide behind his mother. Luigi and Samus looked at Link, surprised, prompting Link to shrug with a look of pride on his face.

"Princess, my Lord-Hand, Lady Samus, I would like you to meet Talon, the future King of Hyrule," Malon smiled, bending down to a knee and putting her arm around the boy's shoulders. The boy had his mother's looks: long amber hair that fell down to his shoulders, big green eyes, a tanned face. Without his mother acting as a barrier between him and Princess Peach, the boy looked down shyly.

"Talon?" Princess Peach asked.

"Named after my father. He fought in Mario's Rebellion," Malon responded, still trying to get the nervous boy to look up at the others.

"King Talon of the New Hylian Empire…" Luigi nodded, looking at Link, who could not stop grinning. Luigi bent to a knee, getting to be eye-level with the boy. When the anxious boy looked up at Luigi, the Hand of the Princess grinned and stuck out his hand, waiting for the boy to take it, "The future is in good hands."


End file.
